I fell in love with Holly Bourne’s writing after reading Am I Normal Yet? and immediately decided to check out some of her other work. Hence me reading this novel.
The general idea of this book is Bree trying to become “interesting” enough to write something that publishers won’t reject. She decides the way to go about this is by infiltrating to posse of popular girls at school, while anonymously blogging about it the whole time.
Bree has her issues; she’s always been a bit of a loser, she’s kind of falling in love with her English teacher, she has way too many rejection letters, and she self harms when she feels low. She has to make a lot of sacrifices for the sake of her new blog, one of which is her best friend, Holdo. She reminds herself that “it’s all material” while she acts like a bitch, spends hundreds of pounds on new clothes and hairstyles, befriends with queen-bee Jassmine and even when she sleeps with Jass’s boyfriend. Besides, her crush told her she wasn’t interesting enough, so surely this is what she’s supposed to be doing?
But things get a bit more complicated than she first anticipated, and things end up worse than before for Bree. Yeah, she’s spent time with her mother and she’s become a social princess, but things start to fall apart. There’s a sex tape, and her teacher’s realised his mistake, and she can’t help but cut herself like she’s always done… But this time, she takes it a little too far.
I love the way Holly Bourne incorporates painfully real issues into her novels, mainly revolving around mental health and feminism. Bree’s issue with self harming isn’t looked down upon, or brushed aside, or made into the main plot. Instead, it’s just part of the story, like it is for most people who struggle with it.
My only real problem with this book is that I just can’t believe that a makeover can get you into the posse of populars. Like, really? If I got a haircut and some new lipstick, would I really become best friends with the most popular girl in school? I highly doubt it. I did like how Bree actually became rather attached to the girls, and how she realised that they really are just normal people underneath all that bitchiness and foundation.
This was a nice, easy read though, and I did enjoy it. It combats some common thoughts that go round teenagers’ heads, and although it is a little cheesy in some places, I think it’s mostly rather realistic. Although it isn’t quite one of my favourite books, I do think The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting could just about earn 4.5 stars from me.
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