A review by merlin_reads
Virgin by Radhika Sanghani

4.0

 
Meet Ellie – a 21-year old virgin, not by choice. Her only goal is to lose the giant V that’s hanging over her. It’s not like she hasn’t tried. Oh no, she’s tried – multiple times and has failed each attempt. One tragic incident in high school dubbed the ‘Bite Job’ has scarred Ellie and now she’s that awkward girl in the corner at parties that doesn’t know how talk to boys. With the help of her new friend, Emma and her new gay BFF, Ellie makes a vow that she’s going to lose her virginity before she graduates from Uni.

This book was a surprise. I’ve seen a few reviews comparing it to Bridget Jones but in my opinion this far surpasses it. Virgin takes the unknown, all the questions most of us have had at some time, and answers them with humor and wit. Everything from what type of wax should a girl get to how to give a proper BJ – this book covers it all.

Ellie was slightly neurotic but I believe that people will connect with her whether it’s because she’s a 21 year old virgin or just her self-doubt that constantly plagues her. Sanghani calls out how in media most girls just know what to do and everything is perfect. Most girls on TV and in film and books that I’ve come across just automatically know how to give perfect head and are sexual goddesses when in reality most girls are struggling to find out how to even begin. Virgins are labeled as dorky and nerds or most often losers. Virgin shows us the other side of that – someone who’s far from perfect and who has a lot of questions. It also touches on how we girls have the ‘Prince Charming’ complex (thanks Disney) and that sometimes skews our view of what’s right in front of us.

This book made me laugh, it made me cringe. There were times I wanted to hi-five Ellie and times I wanted to shake her and tell her to move on. This wasn’t a girl who was waiting for ‘the one’, she wasn’t even just waiting for ‘right now’. She was human and flawed and made wrong choices. It was nice to read that and also to have fun with it. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends.

I received an copy of this novel from the publisher in return for an honest review.