Review: My Big Fat Teen Crisis by Jenny Smith

When Sam's best friend is whisked off the Outer Hebrides by her parents, Sam suddenly finds herself without any friends. Sam doesn't seem to fit in anywhere any more. She's not "cool", she's not "sophisticated" and the gorgeous new boy at school certainly won't be interested unless she has an image overhaul - fast! But as Sam experiments with new clothes and new friends, she finds herself more lost than ever! Who does she really want to be - and will she realize before it's too late?


I'm going to review My Big Fat Teen Crisis a little differently than I usually review books. Instead of writing a proper review, I'm going to do a positive and negatives list, like Sam and Gemma love to do in the books, just because I think  it will be fun :) So...

Positives

1. Characters - I loved all but one of the characters in this novel. Sam was fun and quirky, I loved her! She could be sort of self-centered at times, but I didn't mind so much :) She was funny and dramatic, a fantastic main character! David was lovely, he and Sam made such a sweet couple. Taylor was hilarious! Cat, Gemma and Lucy were fantastic friends Sam, they were all unique and kind. The character I hated was Tania. Grrrr >:( She was so horrible! I liked the ending, the bully got what she deserved :)

2. Unique bits - I  know, that title is a bit vague :) I mean the parts like  Sam and Gemma's online chats, the positives and negatives lists (which inspired the one I'm doing now!) and my personal favourite, Sam's Facebook status at the end of each chapter. All of these things really added to the book, giving it a fun and original twist. I think they make it appealing and relatable to young teens!

3. The cover - The cover is so cute, I absolutely love it! The socks are awesome :P And the yellow really stands out. While I was reading the book I was just admiring the cover the whole time!

4. The storyline - 'My Big Fat Teen Crisis' had a fun, easy storyline, and it was very enjoyable to read. However, it is actually more meaningful than the bright cover suggests. It also deals with important and relevant issues like divorce, alcoholism, relationships and bullying. I think the way these topics are dealt with will help the young teen audience it is aimed at, because I'm sure many of them are dealing with issues like that. 

Negatives

Yeah, OK, I know this is like the worst Positives and Negatives list ever, because I just realised I actually have no negative thoughts about this book! That's good though, so yay! :)

In a nutshell

My Big Fat Teen Crisis is an enjoyable, humorous and entertaining read. I loved it, and I'm sure you will too! Highly recommended.

Source: For Review - thanks to the publisher for sending me this in exchange for an honest review.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 208

Age group: 11+
Official Publication Date: 1st March 2012
Publisher: Scholastic

Challenges: ABC Reading Challenge, British Books Challenge