Review of Zoella's Girl Online!

I finally got a chance to read Zoella's debut novel Girl Online this month! I purchased it as a Christmas present for my sister with the request that I got to read it when she was finished ha! If you have heard nothing about Girl Online, it's about a teenage girl called Penny who struggles with anxiety and always finds herself in some kind of embarrassing mishap. Her life suddenly changes when she goes on a big adventure and has a whirlwind romance with an eighteen year old musician. I have mixed thoughts regarding this book so here it goes!

Firstly, I think I was a little too old for this novel. I was initially put off purchasing this for myself when I saw on Amazon that it's target reading age was 11 years old. Surely the majority of Zoe's subscribers aren't that young? I think this was a bad move on her part but still an excellent one as people still purchased the book regardless as it's by Zoella after all! I couldn't care less if it was ghost written as I have no doubt that Zoella contributed to the book. I did however, find the writing style a bit immature for my age and even my sister who is way closer to the target age than me felt similar! I am by no means saying it was written badly but I think I am just a little too old to appreciate it properly.

I loved the cultural references to the UK in Girl Online, I thought they were such a nice touch! They would only really mean anything if you live here I suppose but I thought it made the novel very British and that must be kind of cool for international readers! My favourite part of the book was most definitely when Penny went to New York with her parents. I am desperate to visit there so really anything to do with NYC makes me happy!

I also highly commend Zoe for addressing anxiety and similar issues within the novel as you don't often see it in mainstream media. Hopefully it will let other young girls know that it is very common and it's nothing to be ashamed of! I also thought the message regarding growing out of your friends was very thoughtful and reassuring for younger girls. 

I didn't love this book but it was a nice, quick read. It gets quite addictive when you start reading as the chapters are pretty short and before you know it you've read tonnes! I found it a bit unrealistic in places but as a Media student, I was maybe just reading into it a bit much. I absolutely loved the whole concept of Penny being a blogger and the social media aspects of the book. I thought that was very current and something that I personally haven't seen in a book before. It was a refreshing read and I would recommend it if you very looking for a cute little romance novel! I think the younger you are, the more you will enjoy this book.

Have you read Girl Online? If so, what did you think of it?