*No. of pages: 344
*Average Rating on Goodreads: 3.97/5
*My Rating on Goodreads: 5/5
SYNOPSIS via Goodreads:
I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has – I can’t believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! – and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes…
Penny has a secret.
Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family – and the panic attacks she’s suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love – and capturing every moment of it on her blog.
But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny’s cover – and her closest friendship – forever
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Quick Reaction:
Before I begun reading Girl Online by Zoe Sugg, I did what I always do before reading a book: scroll for reviews and reactions on Goodreads. What I saw was not really pleasing to the eyes. I saw at least 60% of reviews that contains only a one-star rating! But of course, I did not read their reasons for the risk of seeing spoilers. To be honest, I had this hesitation and doubt if I would really choose Girl Online as my new read, yet seeing 40% of the reviews that actually has five-star (highest rating on Goodreads) ratings, I decided to give it a shot.
I did not regret my decision! As I was reading and wondering why on Earth did I saw such poor ratings, I thought that, “Okay, so maybe the ending is bad??” Yet as I do some progress with reading the book, I doubt that the poor ratings I saw was even accurate. Now having finished the book, I’m more than ever curious. Without the spoilers being a threat any longer, I read the reasons of those people and got really annoyed as to why… Because Zoe Sugg/Zoella is an English fashion and beauty vlogger that got famous over the internet, and is now an Internet personality; she is best known for her Zoella channel in Youtube that has millions of subscribers. Which, interpreted by some—if not most, as a valid excuse that she has no right to publish a book that became so famous and was able to land a great spot at the bestseller charts. Here’s what I have to say to that…
ANYONE can be a writer but not EVERYONE can be a great writer. Whether they took up a course for writing or they write as a form hobby, what matters at the end is the quality of their work, the lessons it contain and how effective the stories are. Even though not everyone can really be a great writer, it is safe to say that Zoe Sugg is a great one. She was able to use her vlogger side to create a unique personality out of the female protagonist and she was able to use her Zoella channel on Youtube to form a realist character in the male protagonist.
So as a message to everyone: Do not judge based on such poor reasons and lame excuse for a judgment. R-E-A-D. Read before you give a verdict. We all have the right to do what we want and do what we love.
And here’s a message to those who judged Girl Online because of Zoe Sugg being a vlogger and for being famous on Youtube: I saw most of those who gave the poor rating admitting that they have not read the book. All I have to say to you is this: READ.
Bibliophile Feather: Your bookstore bug! 