Girl Online (Zoe Sugg)
Penny has a secret, under the alias Girl Online she blogs her feelings about friendships, boys, her family and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse a family trip to New York saves her, she meets Noah, a gorgeous guitar-strumming American and suddenly Penny is falling in love. But Noah has a secret too, one that threatens to ruin Penny’s cover and the new friendship she has formed.
Girl Online is written by Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella, the internet sensation that has taken the world by storm through her blogs and vlogs on all things beauty, fashion and lifestyle. This is her first novel but there was a lot of speculation when it was released that Zoe had ghost writers write it for her – something which she has strongly denied.
Nevertheless though it is a very good book, I was hooked and read it in just two days (would have been quicker but real life got in the way!). It probably is aimed at a slightly younger audience as the main character is about 16, but everything that happens and the way Penny reacts is something that all girls can relate to. I remember when I was 16 and all the thoughts and feelings that came with my life at that time and Zoe has put them into Penny’s character perfectly.
The story follows Penny as she struggles through school, encountering bullies and embarrassing moments but finding some sort of relief by blogging about it anonymously. When her mum’s offered a job organising a wedding in New York the family head out and it is there that Penny meets Noah. They form a friendship and it soon turns to love, but Noah has his own secret and when Penny finds out she is thrown into his world and struggles to understand the boy she thought she knew.
Overall I really liked the story, I think it is very well written, all the characters are great and you really feel like you know them. One reason why I liked it so much was because like Zoe, Penny suffers from panic attacks and I feel like Zoe put her own experiences in the story in order to give other sufferers someone they can relate to and look up to, for Penny learns different techniques to help control the attacks – something which helped me as I also suffer from panic attacks. There aren’t many stories out there that show mental illnesses in a positive light, so Zoe has been very brave in including it in hers but I know that her illness is a big part of her life and who she is, so for her to bring it to the attention of others in a way that highlights the signs and gives advice on how to deal with them is great, especially as a lot of young girls will read the book who might be suffering themselves but don’t feel like they can tell anyone. However this isn’t the main part of the book so don’t let it put you off as the rest is a sweet love story.
