Author: Chloe SeagerPublisher: HQ (Harper Collins)
Year: Aug 2017
Pages: 328
ISBN: 9780008220976
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Reading Time: 1 - 4 Aug
Binding: Signed Paperback
Goodreads
Blurb:
When Emma Nash is ghosted by love of her life Leon Naylor, she does what any girl would do - spends the summer avoiding all human contact, surrounded by the Chewit wrappers he left behind.
Seeing Leon suddenly 'in a relationship' on Facebook, however, spurs Emma into action. She vows to use the internet for good (instead of stalking Leon's social media), chronicling her adventures on her new Editing Emma blog.
But life online doesn't always run smoothly.
From finding her mum's Tinder profile, to getting catfished and accidentally telling the entire world why Leon Naylor is worth no girl's virginity . . . Surely nothing else could go wrong?
Review:
This is totally not the kind of book I would usually pick up, but it was signed and an exclusive early release at discounted price for YALC so I went for it! Who can say no to a signed bargain?
A lot of people are comparing this to Louise Rennison's books which is understandable. It's the same kind of humour, plot and intended audience. Here I should point out I own three books of the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series and I don't remember finishing any of them, maybe only the first. I enjoyed the humour, laughed my head of when I watched the movie but couldn't get past the pathetic and petty actions that were so unbelievable. It was much the same with Editing Emma.
The humour was good, really good. Of what I remember of Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging this book is for a slightly older audience. There's joking about masturbation, a subject not nearly talked about enough amongst young women that will be relatable for some and abhorrent for others not there yet. I thought it was hilariously nonchalant considering where the text was being posted.
The book is a series of posts on Emma's private blog. The concept of a private blog I have a problem with, I just don't understand it. Why bother? Why not just go with a good old-fashioned, handwritten diary. The handwriting shows emotion. You can sketch stupid stuff. It can be burned. Someone is going to find this blog. As I see it there were some comments on the blog posts by people Emma surely wouldn't have given the address to. Maybe they were Twitter posts, it was unclear. I have no problem with epistolary-like books, I enjoy them, it's a breath of fresh air in a library of chunky books and long chapters. But she posted so often it became unbelievable, this blog was clearly being used as a diary to express every thought in her little head.
A good book in general but especially a contemporary book you are supposed to empathise with, in my opinion, needs a likeable character. Emma was no such thing. She ponders after Leon and exhibits some really creepy habits that set a pretty pathetic character that I'd have nothing to do with if I met her in real life. I'm not picking up those pieces all the time, get on with your life. I had a few crushes I obsessed over and I knew I thought about them too much. Yes, we all stalk our crushes on social media. Yes, the tings they touch can occasionally look as if they've turned to gold. But she was on another, unbelievable level. I just can't or don't want to imagine someone could really be sunk to such a pathetic level over a boy at that age.
I wasn't a fan of her friends either, their characters were your typical range of friends but they were portrayed bitterly through Emma and so came across negative. Her friends in truth, were so lovely by even dealing with Emma in her state but she was blind to their needs. If they had problems of their own they were selfish, if they didn't make an effort to cheer her up they got the cold shoulder. All vented about on the 'safe place' of her blog. For me it portrayed that kind of competition and pettiness between girls that is very true and brought back a lot of bad memories for me.
I haven't got the book on me whilst writing this (Hola Feurteventura!) but I remember the ending to be this kind of discovery that didn't ring true. It just. . . appeared. It was a bit of a non-ending to a straight lined character arc. Emma was changing her outlook on life as a new way to deal with her rejections. Same old story. Denial disguised as a revelation.
At a younger age, all for this. If you're getting into Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal snogging about now, go for it. It's a funny and to an extent realistic book. A few years later you'll see the flaws.
A lot of people are comparing this to Louise Rennison's books which is understandable. It's the same kind of humour, plot and intended audience. Here I should point out I own three books of the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series and I don't remember finishing any of them, maybe only the first. I enjoyed the humour, laughed my head of when I watched the movie but couldn't get past the pathetic and petty actions that were so unbelievable. It was much the same with Editing Emma.
The humour was good, really good. Of what I remember of Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging this book is for a slightly older audience. There's joking about masturbation, a subject not nearly talked about enough amongst young women that will be relatable for some and abhorrent for others not there yet. I thought it was hilariously nonchalant considering where the text was being posted.
The book is a series of posts on Emma's private blog. The concept of a private blog I have a problem with, I just don't understand it. Why bother? Why not just go with a good old-fashioned, handwritten diary. The handwriting shows emotion. You can sketch stupid stuff. It can be burned. Someone is going to find this blog. As I see it there were some comments on the blog posts by people Emma surely wouldn't have given the address to. Maybe they were Twitter posts, it was unclear. I have no problem with epistolary-like books, I enjoy them, it's a breath of fresh air in a library of chunky books and long chapters. But she posted so often it became unbelievable, this blog was clearly being used as a diary to express every thought in her little head.
A good book in general but especially a contemporary book you are supposed to empathise with, in my opinion, needs a likeable character. Emma was no such thing. She ponders after Leon and exhibits some really creepy habits that set a pretty pathetic character that I'd have nothing to do with if I met her in real life. I'm not picking up those pieces all the time, get on with your life. I had a few crushes I obsessed over and I knew I thought about them too much. Yes, we all stalk our crushes on social media. Yes, the tings they touch can occasionally look as if they've turned to gold. But she was on another, unbelievable level. I just can't or don't want to imagine someone could really be sunk to such a pathetic level over a boy at that age.
I wasn't a fan of her friends either, their characters were your typical range of friends but they were portrayed bitterly through Emma and so came across negative. Her friends in truth, were so lovely by even dealing with Emma in her state but she was blind to their needs. If they had problems of their own they were selfish, if they didn't make an effort to cheer her up they got the cold shoulder. All vented about on the 'safe place' of her blog. For me it portrayed that kind of competition and pettiness between girls that is very true and brought back a lot of bad memories for me.
I haven't got the book on me whilst writing this (Hola Feurteventura!) but I remember the ending to be this kind of discovery that didn't ring true. It just. . . appeared. It was a bit of a non-ending to a straight lined character arc. Emma was changing her outlook on life as a new way to deal with her rejections. Same old story. Denial disguised as a revelation.
At a younger age, all for this. If you're getting into Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal snogging about now, go for it. It's a funny and to an extent realistic book. A few years later you'll see the flaws.
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