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bookph1le's review
2.0
It was hard to like the protagonist for most of the book. It had some really good concepts but the execution was very disappointing, and the resolution felt too pat, like the neatly wrapped ending of a sitcom.
Full review:
"Not That Kind of Girl" is a novel with some very important messages, which it tackles with great ambition but which is, ultimately, undone by a long buildup and then a far too swift unraveling. I loved the ideas it presented, loved the way it discussed feminine ideals in a very serious manner, but felt that those messages weren't delivered in the most effective manner.
For me, the biggest problem with this novel was with Natalie, the main character. I liked the fact that she was focused and that she was savvy about the unsavory motivations of some of the boys at her school. However, I often found her strident, condescending, and, at times, downright sexist. She was a very flawed character, and the vast majority of the book is this unfolding of her flaws. This isn't problematic in and of itself. What is problematic is that the narrative spends most of the time building Natalie up for her fall--so much time that I began to fear she wouldn't show any growth at all. For much of the novel, she seemed terribly one dimensional to me. I actively disliked her and would probably have stopped reading if not for the fact that I just kept hoping against hope that she would learn something and show some growth. She ultimately does, but this is such a small portion of the novel that it couldn't undo the damage of the earlier buildup. In fact, I found the ending to be rather pat, like an after-school special. When she finally does realize her mistakes, Natalie is able to mend everything with far too much ease. I was very disappointed with her lack of deep introspection. She does show self-awareness toward the end, but it felt far too shallow when compared with the gravity of the events in the story.
Though most of the characters did end up having several dimensions in the end, I felt the novel created too much of an impression that they didn't. Many of the characters spent the majority of the novel feeling like stock characters, which was really to their detriment. Vivian is exploring various aspects of adolescent female and male culture here but, at times, it feels like the characters are being firmly pushed into the boxes out of which they are attempting to break. This may be a flaw of telling the book solely from Natalie's perspective. Maybe if the reader had the chance to see what's going on inside Connor's head or Spencer's head, it would have done these characters more justice.
While I do think that the characters are ultimately treated fairly, for the most part, I spent too much of the novel feeling uncomfortable. I was particularly uncomfortable with the way Natalie treated Connor. In the end, Vivian does show that being a feminist does not mean hating men, but I think that message was far too delayed in its delivery. I really hated the way Natalie treated Connor, how she justified this treatment. I also frankly couldn't understand what he saw in her. I couldn't help but feel that, had the situation been reversed and Connor had been the one behaving the way Natalie did, the book would have had strongly negative connotations. I really wish that the idea of equality in a relationship had been treated more deftly, that questions about power and who possesses it were given more weight than they were. I think these messages would have been better served had Natalie's comeuppance come a bit earlier and had its consequences been given more weight.
Full review:
"Not That Kind of Girl" is a novel with some very important messages, which it tackles with great ambition but which is, ultimately, undone by a long buildup and then a far too swift unraveling. I loved the ideas it presented, loved the way it discussed feminine ideals in a very serious manner, but felt that those messages weren't delivered in the most effective manner.
For me, the biggest problem with this novel was with Natalie, the main character. I liked the fact that she was focused and that she was savvy about the unsavory motivations of some of the boys at her school. However, I often found her strident, condescending, and, at times, downright sexist. She was a very flawed character, and the vast majority of the book is this unfolding of her flaws. This isn't problematic in and of itself. What is problematic is that the narrative spends most of the time building Natalie up for her fall--so much time that I began to fear she wouldn't show any growth at all. For much of the novel, she seemed terribly one dimensional to me. I actively disliked her and would probably have stopped reading if not for the fact that I just kept hoping against hope that she would learn something and show some growth. She ultimately does, but this is such a small portion of the novel that it couldn't undo the damage of the earlier buildup. In fact, I found the ending to be rather pat, like an after-school special. When she finally does realize her mistakes, Natalie is able to mend everything with far too much ease. I was very disappointed with her lack of deep introspection. She does show self-awareness toward the end, but it felt far too shallow when compared with the gravity of the events in the story.
Though most of the characters did end up having several dimensions in the end, I felt the novel created too much of an impression that they didn't. Many of the characters spent the majority of the novel feeling like stock characters, which was really to their detriment. Vivian is exploring various aspects of adolescent female and male culture here but, at times, it feels like the characters are being firmly pushed into the boxes out of which they are attempting to break. This may be a flaw of telling the book solely from Natalie's perspective. Maybe if the reader had the chance to see what's going on inside Connor's head or Spencer's head, it would have done these characters more justice.
While I do think that the characters are ultimately treated fairly, for the most part, I spent too much of the novel feeling uncomfortable. I was particularly uncomfortable with the way Natalie treated Connor. In the end, Vivian does show that being a feminist does not mean hating men, but I think that message was far too delayed in its delivery. I really hated the way Natalie treated Connor, how she justified this treatment. I also frankly couldn't understand what he saw in her. I couldn't help but feel that, had the situation been reversed and Connor had been the one behaving the way Natalie did, the book would have had strongly negative connotations. I really wish that the idea of equality in a relationship had been treated more deftly, that questions about power and who possesses it were given more weight than they were. I think these messages would have been better served had Natalie's comeuppance come a bit earlier and had its consequences been given more weight.
stephxsu's review
4.0
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL, Siobhan Vivian’s third novel, succeeds where few other contemporary YAs do: it features a smart, determined, but not always nice or right female protagonist and a strong message of the different definitions of what female empowerment entails.
Natalie is not a straightforwardly sympathetic protagonist. She’s smart and has obviously accomplished much, yes, and her narration is delightful for the “over-read” YA reader: anguished and angsty, determined and stubborn, without being overly dramatic and annoying. However, we get the sense early on that, despite the seeming solidness of her feminist creed, she could stand to learn a lesson or two. Too often I feel like YA protagonists are always made out to either be ethically perfect in dealing with external problems, or else have an identity utterly wrapped up in a love interest. Thus, Natalie is a breath of fresh air—even if she may snap at you, and even slap you, for daring to objectify her as refreshing.
There are a gratifying number of strong females in this novel—even if not all of them are “strong” in the best ways—but Spencer is probably the most admirable character of them all. She is the type of girl Natalie fears, though for all the wrong reasons. Spencer is confident, strong-willed, feminine, and, to Natalie’s horror, not afraid to play up her feminine appeal to get her way. Spencer and Natalie come from different schools of feminism, and while there is no clear answer as to which of them is more correct—Spencer gets hurt more, but she also lives—they are excellent examples of the different manifestations of feminism…with a hearty dose of entertainment in their shenanigans and interactions, too.
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL focuses on the feminism aspect, on what it could mean for a female to be empowered, but it’s hardly preachy, and not without a crackling romance as well (although Natalie’s interactions with Connor was something I wish had been more fleshed out). Siobhan Vivian is a strong writer with a talent for character subtleties. This is my first book of hers, but it will certainly not be my last. Don’t overlook this strong gem of a contemporary YA read!
Natalie is not a straightforwardly sympathetic protagonist. She’s smart and has obviously accomplished much, yes, and her narration is delightful for the “over-read” YA reader: anguished and angsty, determined and stubborn, without being overly dramatic and annoying. However, we get the sense early on that, despite the seeming solidness of her feminist creed, she could stand to learn a lesson or two. Too often I feel like YA protagonists are always made out to either be ethically perfect in dealing with external problems, or else have an identity utterly wrapped up in a love interest. Thus, Natalie is a breath of fresh air—even if she may snap at you, and even slap you, for daring to objectify her as refreshing.
There are a gratifying number of strong females in this novel—even if not all of them are “strong” in the best ways—but Spencer is probably the most admirable character of them all. She is the type of girl Natalie fears, though for all the wrong reasons. Spencer is confident, strong-willed, feminine, and, to Natalie’s horror, not afraid to play up her feminine appeal to get her way. Spencer and Natalie come from different schools of feminism, and while there is no clear answer as to which of them is more correct—Spencer gets hurt more, but she also lives—they are excellent examples of the different manifestations of feminism…with a hearty dose of entertainment in their shenanigans and interactions, too.
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL focuses on the feminism aspect, on what it could mean for a female to be empowered, but it’s hardly preachy, and not without a crackling romance as well (although Natalie’s interactions with Connor was something I wish had been more fleshed out). Siobhan Vivian is a strong writer with a talent for character subtleties. This is my first book of hers, but it will certainly not be my last. Don’t overlook this strong gem of a contemporary YA read!
4saradouglas's review
2.0
I heard this book was amazing, but I ended up just being annoyed by it. The main character is so preachy and so judgmental that she made the entire book tiresome. I couldn't relate with her constant rudeness or her deep shame of liking a boy. The only part of the book I liked was the fact that Natalie and Spencer had completely opposite ideas of what was right and wrong, but they both had really good points. In the end I thought this was romance novel, but it felt like the exact opposite.
charms1976's review
4.0
Not That Kind of Girl is a book that most teens will be able to relate to. There are always the boys that goof around and talk about who is doing who, girls that are trying their best to get a boys attention, and kids that are always trying to be the respectful and good grade kind of teen. In this book we get to see sides to every different teen.
Natalie has always been the school smart and straight laced teen. She is always focusing on her studies and her senior year she runs for class president. Usually this is held by a boy, but that doesn't stop her from running. She is loyal to her friend Autumn to a point of reminding her of why they became friends in the first place all the time. I didn't care much for Natalie. She came off as better than everyone else, snotty and always had to remind everyone that she was better than they were. Her whole attitude was better-than-thou. I wanted to knock her off of that pedestal so many times throughout the entire book.
Conner was a great romantic lead for Natalie. He was the high school quarterback and had a good head on his shoulders. I loved how he was patient with all of Natalie's different attitudes. Autumn and Spencer were the most likable girls of the book. They did their own thing and felt empowered by their actions.
The first half of this book dragged due to it being more about the election and building up Natalie. After you get through the first half of the book, it starts to really pick up and the romance between Natalie and Conner starts to take off. It also delves deeper into the problems with the friendships between Natalie, Autumn and Spencer. Once I got into this part of the book, it was easy to be caught up into the whole teenage drama.
This book turned out to be a lot better than I first thought in the beginning chapters. I wanted to read more about the aftermath though and the story quickly came to an end before I knew it. I do hope the author considers doing a sequel to the book just so I can see how things affected the characters for life after high school! I need more of this story to quench my need for teen drama!
Natalie has always been the school smart and straight laced teen. She is always focusing on her studies and her senior year she runs for class president. Usually this is held by a boy, but that doesn't stop her from running. She is loyal to her friend Autumn to a point of reminding her of why they became friends in the first place all the time. I didn't care much for Natalie. She came off as better than everyone else, snotty and always had to remind everyone that she was better than they were. Her whole attitude was better-than-thou. I wanted to knock her off of that pedestal so many times throughout the entire book.
Conner was a great romantic lead for Natalie. He was the high school quarterback and had a good head on his shoulders. I loved how he was patient with all of Natalie's different attitudes. Autumn and Spencer were the most likable girls of the book. They did their own thing and felt empowered by their actions.
The first half of this book dragged due to it being more about the election and building up Natalie. After you get through the first half of the book, it starts to really pick up and the romance between Natalie and Conner starts to take off. It also delves deeper into the problems with the friendships between Natalie, Autumn and Spencer. Once I got into this part of the book, it was easy to be caught up into the whole teenage drama.
This book turned out to be a lot better than I first thought in the beginning chapters. I wanted to read more about the aftermath though and the story quickly came to an end before I knew it. I do hope the author considers doing a sequel to the book just so I can see how things affected the characters for life after high school! I need more of this story to quench my need for teen drama!
sandeeisreading's review
4.0
Not everything could be perfect.
That was a lesson Natalie Sterling had to learn.
Natalie Sterling was the picture of girl who could do nothing wrong.
She was smart.
She was the president of the student council.
She was ambitious.
She wanted everything in her high school life to be prefect so that she could get in her chosen university.
She was the kind of daughter any parent would want.
You think she's perfect?
Think again.
Beneath all of that there is an insecure girl who hides behind her books.
There is this girl was barely has friends because of her goals.
There is this girl who almost never has fun with any guy or her even her friends because of the fear that someone will call her a slut.
She was sad though she doesn’t want to admit it.
Then there's Connor.
Connor was a jock.
The type of guy every high school girl dreams of dating.
He was handsome.
He has a good body. *YUMM!*
He may seem like the type of guy who would talk about nothing but how to get girls to take their pants off but he was NOT!
There was more to him than meets the eye.
He was sweet.
He was a good son.
When he likes someone he'll do anything for her.
Natalie always wants her life to be perfect but no matter how much you want it to be perfect somewhere along the way there will always be something that will go wrong.
No matter what decisions you make some of them will not always be right.
I loved the story because it teaches us how we can all make mistakes but making those mistakes teaches us something.
Mistakes are not there to hold us down but to teach us a lesson so that we could grow.
A perfect example of this would be what happened to Natalie's friend Autumn.
All the characters did their part.
Autumn learned her lesson and learned it well.
It just took her a little bit of time before she goes out of her shell.
I admire Spencer for being who she is.
I may not have the spunk that she has but I admire her of not being afraid to tell everyone what she believes in or what she believes is right.
Then there's Mike.
I hate Mike.
He's the reason why I would never want to go back to high school.
He's the exact opposite of Connor.
I don’t know how they became best friends in the first place.
I liked this book but not really love it.
The moral lesson of the story was clear and well executed.
I think everyone who will read the book will get a clear idea as to what the message of the author is trying to convey.
Though I don't really like Natalie that much but I love Connor!
Connor. *sigh*
Dear Connor,
If Natalie dumps you when she goes to college, I’ll be here.
Love
Sandee
I rate this 3.5!
I love the cover by the way.
Totally Connor out there. :D
That was a lesson Natalie Sterling had to learn.
Natalie Sterling was the picture of girl who could do nothing wrong.
She was smart.
She was the president of the student council.
She was ambitious.
She wanted everything in her high school life to be prefect so that she could get in her chosen university.
She was the kind of daughter any parent would want.
You think she's perfect?
Think again.
Beneath all of that there is an insecure girl who hides behind her books.
There is this girl was barely has friends because of her goals.
There is this girl who almost never has fun with any guy or her even her friends because of the fear that someone will call her a slut.
She was sad though she doesn’t want to admit it.
Then there's Connor.
Connor was a jock.
The type of guy every high school girl dreams of dating.
He was handsome.
He has a good body. *YUMM!*
He may seem like the type of guy who would talk about nothing but how to get girls to take their pants off but he was NOT!
There was more to him than meets the eye.
He was sweet.
He was a good son.
When he likes someone he'll do anything for her.
Natalie always wants her life to be perfect but no matter how much you want it to be perfect somewhere along the way there will always be something that will go wrong.
No matter what decisions you make some of them will not always be right.
I loved the story because it teaches us how we can all make mistakes but making those mistakes teaches us something.
Mistakes are not there to hold us down but to teach us a lesson so that we could grow.
A perfect example of this would be what happened to Natalie's friend Autumn.
All the characters did their part.
Autumn learned her lesson and learned it well.
It just took her a little bit of time before she goes out of her shell.
I admire Spencer for being who she is.
I may not have the spunk that she has but I admire her of not being afraid to tell everyone what she believes in or what she believes is right.
Then there's Mike.
I hate Mike.
He's the reason why I would never want to go back to high school.
He's the exact opposite of Connor.
I don’t know how they became best friends in the first place.
I liked this book but not really love it.
The moral lesson of the story was clear and well executed.
I think everyone who will read the book will get a clear idea as to what the message of the author is trying to convey.
Though I don't really like Natalie that much but I love Connor!
Connor. *sigh*
Dear Connor,
If Natalie dumps you when she goes to college, I’ll be here.
Love
Sandee
I rate this 3.5!
I love the cover by the way.
Totally Connor out there. :D
janina_reads's review
3.0
Well. I just flew through Not That Kind of Girl in a couple of hours this afternoon. If you are wondering, yes, I actually would have had other, more important things to do. Such as studying, for example. But after exhausting myself pointlessly on a 6x6 matrix for about an hour, I decided to throw in the towel and reward myself with some quality book time. Which is something the main character here, Natalie, probably would not approve of.
Natalie has big goals in life. She is more intelligent than most other people at her school and she knows it. She wants to be someone. So she works hard for it and won’t let herself be distracted by anything. Especially not by boys. But with this ambition also comes a certain aloofness and a self-imposed isolation that may be viewed as pride and arrogance. Natalie most definitely is not as wise and knowing as she thinks she is, and she has to learn that in a sometimes painful way.
I can definitely see people thinking of her as an arrogant and annoying character, but I grew to like her. She is flawed, and she desperately needs to learn a lesson (or two), yet you can see that she is not being a snob on purpose. She wants to shelter the one person she truly cares for, her friend Autumn (even if she is carrying it to excess sometimes), and she wants to meet the expectations of those around her – and especially the expectations she has for herself.
I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the novel, and see her realise that being with a guy you like does not imply that you are dependent on him. That is does not make you any less strong as a woman. That it does not necessarily mean he is only using you. And that sleeping with him does not automatically make you a slut.
I really liked to see the girls' totally different ways of dealing with their problems in this book. Natalie is the one to close up, push people away and snap at them. Autumn has retreated into the shadow of her friend. And Spencer just tries to hold her head high and live with it. Which sometimes works and other times doesn’t. Yet all three of them grow and find their own way.
Connor is definitely a swoon-worthy crush, and I appreciated how [a:Siobhan Vivian|800187|Siobhan Vivian|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg] succeeded in portraying him a bit like the stereotype footballer on the outside, but as a totally different person on the inside as you get to know him better. I would have wished for the interactions between him and Natalie to have a bit more depth, though.
So don't let yourself be fooled by the cover. Although this book clearly features the romance I expected it to, it is also a novel about friendship, about finding out who you want to be and about accepting that being any kind of girl can be totally fine – if it is what you want and what makes you happy.
Natalie has big goals in life. She is more intelligent than most other people at her school and she knows it. She wants to be someone. So she works hard for it and won’t let herself be distracted by anything. Especially not by boys. But with this ambition also comes a certain aloofness and a self-imposed isolation that may be viewed as pride and arrogance. Natalie most definitely is not as wise and knowing as she thinks she is, and she has to learn that in a sometimes painful way.
I can definitely see people thinking of her as an arrogant and annoying character, but I grew to like her. She is flawed, and she desperately needs to learn a lesson (or two), yet you can see that she is not being a snob on purpose. She wants to shelter the one person she truly cares for, her friend Autumn (even if she is carrying it to excess sometimes), and she wants to meet the expectations of those around her – and especially the expectations she has for herself.
I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the novel, and see her realise that being with a guy you like does not imply that you are dependent on him. That is does not make you any less strong as a woman. That it does not necessarily mean he is only using you. And that sleeping with him does not automatically make you a slut.
I really liked to see the girls' totally different ways of dealing with their problems in this book. Natalie is the one to close up, push people away and snap at them. Autumn has retreated into the shadow of her friend. And Spencer just tries to hold her head high and live with it. Which sometimes works and other times doesn’t. Yet all three of them grow and find their own way.
Connor is definitely a swoon-worthy crush, and I appreciated how [a:Siobhan Vivian|800187|Siobhan Vivian|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg] succeeded in portraying him a bit like the stereotype footballer on the outside, but as a totally different person on the inside as you get to know him better. I would have wished for the interactions between him and Natalie to have a bit more depth, though.
So don't let yourself be fooled by the cover. Although this book clearly features the romance I expected it to, it is also a novel about friendship, about finding out who you want to be and about accepting that being any kind of girl can be totally fine – if it is what you want and what makes you happy.
mlejmeyer's review
3.0
3.5? I think my high school girls would have loved, loved, loved this book and others by Vivian. As an adult reader, I had issues with some of the feminist themes/contradictions in the book, but I think it would get girls talking and thinking (and reading)!
laurenpiersol's review
1.0
So I just finished reading Not that Kind of Girl and it was a good book. It really laid into the ideas of feminism and really having self respect rather than letting other people judge you.
It was a little lacking in the romance parts, because when I saw the cover that Is what I expected. Also a few of the female characters literally drove me insane. They seemed to have no selfrespect at all and it did go along with the plot of the story, howver I felt it a little overdone at certain parts.
Overall it was a good book and I enjoyed the messages it portrayed to teenage girls that it's not all about what other people think of you and you need to put yourself first.
It was a little lacking in the romance parts, because when I saw the cover that Is what I expected. Also a few of the female characters literally drove me insane. They seemed to have no selfrespect at all and it did go along with the plot of the story, howver I felt it a little overdone at certain parts.
Overall it was a good book and I enjoyed the messages it portrayed to teenage girls that it's not all about what other people think of you and you need to put yourself first.
kelleemoye's review
3.0
*Some minor middle book spoilers*
This book was a very quick read for me and I went back and forth between giving it 3, 4 or 5 stars depending on where I was in the book. You meet Natalie who is such a strong young lady. At the beginning of the book, she was so in control- she controlled everything in her life including her friends. The control was what ultimately made everything fall apart. She falls apart in front of your eyes and it just happens so quickly. I wish that Natalie could have just had more emotions throughout. She was so detached (although maybe her detachment and just plain unlikeability [is that even a word?!] was the point). I understand high school love- I went through it, but Natalie seemed to just not have any emotions then all of a sudden had too many. For a senior in high school, to go from a self-proclaimed boy hater to wanting to have sex with a person she hardly knew just seemed unrealistic to me. Afterwards, the started to become more of a human to me, but it took a while.
I do think the book dealt with some important issues like objectifying oneself and I think that all young ladies will find someone in this book to relate to. It could be the perfect student Natalie, the sexually charged Spencer, or the beat down Autumn. They all represent different types of girls in high school and throughout this story, all 3 of them grow.
This book was a very quick read for me and I went back and forth between giving it 3, 4 or 5 stars depending on where I was in the book. You meet Natalie who is such a strong young lady. At the beginning of the book, she was so in control- she controlled everything in her life including her friends. The control was what ultimately made everything fall apart. She falls apart in front of your eyes and it just happens so quickly. I wish that Natalie could have just had more emotions throughout. She was so detached (although maybe her detachment and just plain unlikeability [is that even a word?!] was the point). I understand high school love- I went through it, but Natalie seemed to just not have any emotions then all of a sudden had too many. For a senior in high school, to go from a self-proclaimed boy hater to wanting to have sex with a person she hardly knew just seemed unrealistic to me. Afterwards, the started to become more of a human to me, but it took a while.
I do think the book dealt with some important issues like objectifying oneself and I think that all young ladies will find someone in this book to relate to. It could be the perfect student Natalie, the sexually charged Spencer, or the beat down Autumn. They all represent different types of girls in high school and throughout this story, all 3 of them grow.