Book Review: Not Pretty Enough by Jaimie Admans

 

What it’s about:

Title: Not Pretty Enough
Author: Jaimie Admans
Date of Publication: August 1, 2013
Genre: contemporary YA comedy

New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Lloyd Layton will know I exist. He once said three whole words to me, so this is obviously progress. If I don’t get a proper conversation out of him soon, then I’ll take my top off and streak through the cafeteria, because nobody could fail to notice these boobs.
2. I will not get expelled for streaking through the cafeteria.”

Those are the words that begin her mission. Chessie is fourteen, not pretty enough, and very much in love. Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and unaware of Chessie’s existence. Her goal is clear: to get Lloyd to love her as much as she loves him, and she has exactly one year to do it. As Chessie’s obsession with Lloyd reaches boiling point and she starts to spin a web of lies that spiral out of control, Lloyd turns out to be not quite the prince she thought he was. Can Chessie avoid the gathering storm before things go too far?

Not Pretty Enough is a contemporary young adult comedy suitable for ages thirteen and over.

Book two in the series will be released early 2014.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18142578-not-pretty-enough

Purchase the book from Amazon

Review:

From the very first page, I knew I was going to enjoy this book and it made a pleasant change from everything long and complicated I’ve been reading lately. I signed up for the blog tour of this book, run by Dianne and Jaimie Admans herself and got sent a free copy to read and review. I’m so glad I did because not only is this my first blog tour, it is the first of Jaimie’s book’s I’ve read it’s definitely encouraged me to read more! This is a relatively short and straight-forward story about a teenage girl called Chessie who is in love with a boy in her school called Lloyd. However, Lloyd doesn’t seem to know she exists. The story takes you through the journey of Chessie’s school year and her unique attempts to get Lloyd to notice her but with Chessie’s bad luck, none of them seem to go as planned.

This book reminded me a lot of Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal snogging as it was the same sort of idea and it was so easy to read, I finished it in a day and a half! I loved that it was in first person from Chessie’s point of view because it helped me imagine her and her world very easily and you begin to feel like a part of it. So much so that at times when something embarrassing was about to happen to her, I felt my heart racing because I knew what was coming! I’m sure just as Chessie would have felt in the book. Jaimie puts into words what every teenage girl thinks and feels at some point during their adolescent years. Not only Chessie, I think all the characters are very relatable and recognisable and the way everyone talks to each other is very believable. When you’re 14 and at school, you’re bound to know people similar to the different characters in the book, for example, the class bully and a group of boys mad about cars and football. But I think the thing that made this such an enjoyable read for me is that it was so funny and definitely my kind of humour. It’s all very well having a book about a girl who likes a boy but when all the girl does is mope around it’s no fun! Chessie actually goes well out of her way to make this boy notice her and ends up in some hilarious situations, some of which genuinely made me cringe out loud!

If you’re not into anything long, hard-going and complicated and fancy a few laughs this is definitely the book for you! It’s hilarious, cringe-worthy, ridiculous and emotional with a very un-expected ending. I think Jaimie teaches you some important life lessons along the way too like lying will never get you what you want, some people aren’t what they seem and never forget the importance of friendship. It will definitely take you back to all those awkward moments when you were 14 and trying to impress a boy however, if you were as unlucky as Chessie was, I feel sorry for you! The sequel is coming out in 2014 and I for one cannot wait! 5 out of 5 stars!

About Jaimie Admans

Jaimie is a 28-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps. She has been writing for years but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people. Afterlife Academy is her third novel and she hopes you enjoy it. There are plenty more on the way!

Website: http://www.jaimieadmans.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/be_the_spark

Facebook: http://facebook.com/jaimieadmansbooks

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/oDXZj