Sarra Manning : ADORKABLE

Warning! Prepare yourself for another YA novel which takes you back to good old times of old school romantic comedies from the 90s.

ADORKABLE is a contemporary YA novel written by one of my favourite english authors, who never fail to put a smile on my face, Sarra Manning. I have had couple of encounters with Ms Manning's writing and so far I've enjoyed all of them.


Last year, I was browsing the Amazon Books Department for more stories from Ms Manning's pen and I stumbled across ADORKABLE. After reading the summary, I had to own this book. And what a great decision I have made.

*****

Welcome to the dockside. It's going to be a bumpy ride... Jeane Smith's a blogger, a dreamer, a dare-to-dreamer, a jumble sale queen, CEO of her own lifestyle brand and has half a million followers on twitter. Michael Lee's a star of school, stage and playing field. A golden boy in a Jack Wills hoodie. They have nothing in common but a pair of cheating exes. So why can't why stop snogging?

*****

Firstly, let me talk you through the edition I own. Paperback. 387 pages divided into 38 chapters plus epilogue. A light yellow cover with picture and drawings of Jeane and Michael. Very fresh and youthful design. Eye-catching. You want to own the book thanks to the brilliant blur not the back. It gives you a little glimpse to the story but doesn't spoil it completely for you.

The writing is easy to read. Fresh. Funny. Smart. Enjoyable and un-put-down-able. The whole story is filled with pop culture references every one can relate to. Not to mention that Ms Manning's writing and storytelling is always hilarious to read, so keeps you entertain all the way through.



The story itself is wonderful. We all love a good love story between the school jockey and the nerd or dork. And this book is just the one to add to your collection. I love the contrast between the main characters and the fact that we can read the story from both point of views. It keeps it more entertaining. You just want to keep on reading. What will happen next? Will this unexpected relationship slowly develop to love? Or will these two characters totally crash and never speak to each other again? You find yourself routing for the relationship to last as you can see that they are good for each other. You can see the changes within them. The whole story is packed with twists and turns and keeps you on your toes. I loved it. It made me to being able to put the book down. And even when I wasn't reading it, I kept think ing about it.




Part of the reason, why I enjoyed this story so much was Jeane. She is such an inspirational character and my new heroine. She is a blogger, social media extraordinaire. She is a little bit eccentric and a total dork, but I love her for it. I find myself relating to Jeane in so many ways. It's like reading my story (well apart form the international success and possible hunk boyfriend). She has a refreshing way of thinking and looking at world and I admire her for so many reasons. One of them, being such an original, unique character in a society packed with skinny girls in designer clothes watching junk TV programs. I love that she lives off Haribo's and coffee. I love that her clothes are from a thrift shop. She is ambitious, indecent, free... I think young girls should read this book, just so they can discover how awesome is to be a dork or a nerd. Embrace your inner dorkiness and weirdness!!!

But I have to say I do like Michael too. Especially because he is a guy with morals and standards. He isn't an emotionally modified robot who only shags around even when he could. He actually goes for the substance not the packaging. And I love his love-hate relationship with Jeane. They are like a breathe of fresh air with their constant arguments and opinions so different to each other. But they help each other to become a better person. Together, they can take over the world ;-)












But the best thing, the most important message of this book, is a message which clearly says that it's ok to be different. It's ok not to follow the crowd, but be the leader. It's ok to be weird, nerdy or dorky. Because at the end, that's what makes up unique. That's what makes us happy. We shouldn't be ashamed of it. We are leaders and one day the world will be ours to take.



So thank you Ms Manning for writing ADORKABLE. I have loved every single page and cannot wait to re-read it again. Also, thanks to you I have a new world in my dictionary which I am trying to use as many times as I can through the day - Adorkable is the word to use on daily basis. Adorkable is the way to be.