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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Hattie Moore’s OFFICIAL secret diary.
Fourteen-year-old Hattie Moore doesn’t actually know who her dad is – but that’s the least of her problems. How can she become a TOTAL HOTNESS GODDESS when Miss Gorgeous Knickers at school hates her and no one fancies her because she has no breasts? And her family are an absolute nightmare. Her unbelievably annoying brother is EVIL and on top of that, her gran is a TOTAL mental, who may be texting rude jokes to just about EVERYONE in the world. Including her dentist.
Hattie’s diary of this tumultuous year is an absolutely hilarious account of the ups and downs of teenage life, including a dating bogey phobia, near death from biscotti and a home-made breast-growing machine.
14-year-old Hattie Moore’s convinced that her life sucks. She has no breasts, no boyfriend and the most popular girl at school (AKA Miss Gorgeous Knickers) hates her. If she could only find out who her real dad is, she’s sure that her life would improve. Instead she’s stuck with her mum (who works in a café and always smells of grease), her driving instructor step-father, Rob and elder brother, Nathan who’s bumming around after dropping out of school. Fortunately her best friends Dimple and Weirdo Jen are there to help and she’s also got Goose, the nerdy boy next-door who always offers sensible advice.
Over the course of a year, Hattie’s diary will record her attempts to find her dad, grow her breasts, and become a total love goddess.
Rae Earl’s YA comedy is a breezy, girl-friendly read with some laugh-out-loud moments. However although Hattie has a strong and effective voice, her selfishness and at times vile behaviour to her friends and family made it ultimately difficult for me to care about her or her aims.
Hattie constantly talks about finding her father, but her search is half-hearted and (as her brother points out) it’s not clear why she wants to know who he is or what she wants from it. Similarly, I got tired with her obsession of finding a boyfriend (although there are some hilarious entries where she dates an Austrian boy on holiday in Italy). Much of this is part and parcel of the genre (which, I admit, isn’t really my thing) but her confrontations with her mum (where Hattie says and does some awful things) don’t ever seem to carry any consequences beyond a weak telling off.
There are some hilarious moments in the book – my favourites involving Hattie’s nutty grandmother behaves in an utterly and deliciously age-inappropriate manner – and the writing is slick and efficient. However all the build-up about her dad’s identity leads to a rushed and ultimately anti-climactic ending that defers many questions to the sequel, which I found irritating.
Had I liked Hattie, I’d have enjoyed this book more than I did but I found her utterly exasperating and this, coupled with the lack of a proper resolution, meant that while I’ll be interested in reading Earl’s other work, I’m not interested in the sequel to this book.
The Verdict:
Rae Earl’s YA comedy is a breezy, girl-friendly read with some laugh-out-loud moments. However although Hattie has a strong and effective voice, her selfishness and at times vile behaviour to her friends and family made it ultimately difficult for me to care about her or her aims. Had I liked Hattie, I’d have enjoyed this book more than I did but I found her utterly exasperating and this, coupled with the lack of a proper resolution, meant that while I’ll be interested in reading Earl’s other work, I’m not interested in the sequel to this book.
OMG! IS THIS ACTUALLY MY LIFE? is released in the UK on 7th February 2013. Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC of this book.
Fourteen-year-old Hattie Moore doesn’t actually know who her dad is – but that’s the least of her problems. How can she become a TOTAL HOTNESS GODDESS when Miss Gorgeous Knickers at school hates her and no one fancies her because she has no breasts? And her family are an absolute nightmare. Her unbelievably annoying brother is EVIL and on top of that, her gran is a TOTAL mental, who may be texting rude jokes to just about EVERYONE in the world. Including her dentist.
Hattie’s diary of this tumultuous year is an absolutely hilarious account of the ups and downs of teenage life, including a dating bogey phobia, near death from biscotti and a home-made breast-growing machine.
14-year-old Hattie Moore’s convinced that her life sucks. She has no breasts, no boyfriend and the most popular girl at school (AKA Miss Gorgeous Knickers) hates her. If she could only find out who her real dad is, she’s sure that her life would improve. Instead she’s stuck with her mum (who works in a café and always smells of grease), her driving instructor step-father, Rob and elder brother, Nathan who’s bumming around after dropping out of school. Fortunately her best friends Dimple and Weirdo Jen are there to help and she’s also got Goose, the nerdy boy next-door who always offers sensible advice.
Over the course of a year, Hattie’s diary will record her attempts to find her dad, grow her breasts, and become a total love goddess.
Rae Earl’s YA comedy is a breezy, girl-friendly read with some laugh-out-loud moments. However although Hattie has a strong and effective voice, her selfishness and at times vile behaviour to her friends and family made it ultimately difficult for me to care about her or her aims.
Hattie constantly talks about finding her father, but her search is half-hearted and (as her brother points out) it’s not clear why she wants to know who he is or what she wants from it. Similarly, I got tired with her obsession of finding a boyfriend (although there are some hilarious entries where she dates an Austrian boy on holiday in Italy). Much of this is part and parcel of the genre (which, I admit, isn’t really my thing) but her confrontations with her mum (where Hattie says and does some awful things) don’t ever seem to carry any consequences beyond a weak telling off.
There are some hilarious moments in the book – my favourites involving Hattie’s nutty grandmother behaves in an utterly and deliciously age-inappropriate manner – and the writing is slick and efficient. However all the build-up about her dad’s identity leads to a rushed and ultimately anti-climactic ending that defers many questions to the sequel, which I found irritating.
Had I liked Hattie, I’d have enjoyed this book more than I did but I found her utterly exasperating and this, coupled with the lack of a proper resolution, meant that while I’ll be interested in reading Earl’s other work, I’m not interested in the sequel to this book.
The Verdict:
Rae Earl’s YA comedy is a breezy, girl-friendly read with some laugh-out-loud moments. However although Hattie has a strong and effective voice, her selfishness and at times vile behaviour to her friends and family made it ultimately difficult for me to care about her or her aims. Had I liked Hattie, I’d have enjoyed this book more than I did but I found her utterly exasperating and this, coupled with the lack of a proper resolution, meant that while I’ll be interested in reading Earl’s other work, I’m not interested in the sequel to this book.
OMG! IS THIS ACTUALLY MY LIFE? is released in the UK on 7th February 2013. Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC of this book.
