Love is for Losers (Phoebe Davis Thinks . . ., 1)

Product Information

I think this story is good because while Phoebe is a bit crass at times, she’s also relatable. She’s 15, she’s learning, she’s changing, she’s growing. I remember those days, and I know I was a little bit of a turd. Dealing with feelings, family, friendships, school, and sex. It’s all so much. I think it’s nice to read a character who doesn’t start out perfect. Some of the things she says are on the cusp of problematic, but she’s very self involved at first. How things are changing her life and how it’s ruining what she wants and needs. That leaves room for her to grow and have some realizations that are important in this read.

As a heroine, Phoebe may be one who rubs people the wrong way. I personally liked her, but in the beginning of the novel there were times where she was a bit dislikeable, or expressed ignorant sentiments. She is slightly withdrawn from most people, and plays cards close to her chest. But notably she is a fifteen-year-old girl, and over the course of the novel she has a really great character arc that allows for a lot of growth and opening up. And funnily enough, she lives in the area where I grew up, and so it is utterly bizarre seeing childhood haunts pop up in a UKYA novel. Phoebe also volunteers in a charity shop, which was something I also did when I was younger, and honestly you wouldn't think charity shops are the places for teen romances, but it happens in Love is for Losers and I also had my own (embarrassing) real-life experiences. So this is all to say that at the end of the day, I related to Phoebe a lot as a heroine.

Genre

The writing. This story was written in a diary format which suited it perfectly. Phoebe is an authentic, sarcastic and insecure teenager and this is really emphasised by it being written as a diary. I enjoyed the fact that Phoebe showed similar characteristics to my own peers at age 15 which meant the story was really relatable. Initially, Phoebe is confused, awkward and outright rude, and disrespectful to lots of people. But slowly and gradually she starts opening up to people and becomes more welcoming towards others. Despite the hilarity there is also a lot of depth to the novel with themes of grief and abandonment being explored in detail. Brueggemann isn't afraid to write the antithesis to how most YA novels deal with these and, through the perfectly believable character of Phoebe, it works - it absolutely does. Phoebe does her own thing and doesn't conform and that is liberating to read.

This book was somewhat of a mixed bag. There were things I liked about it, but there were also plenty of things I didn’t like about it. But she wasn’t wholly horrible, and that sort of made it more disappointing, if anything. I liked her relationship with Emma, and also the found family aspect of everyone working at the charity shop. I think, though, what the book really needed was Phoebe to be challenged (to say the least) on some of her shit, and to actually show evidence of developing from it. Já ano. A hodně. Často v zápalu nákupu ani nijak extra nepročítám anotaci, prostě vidím YA novinku, co na první pohled nevypadá špatně, a *šup do košíčku*. Jednou z takových knih byla i Láska je na prd, kterou jsem si objednala už někdy v únoru, abych dosáhla na poštovné zdarma. Což bylo ještě předtím, než tuhle knížku dostal každý druhý v propagačním balíčku k Yoli narozeninám (nebo něco takového). Teď se asi nabízí, abych prohlásila, že #tohleneníspolupráce a na knížku padly jen a jen moje peníze (což tolik neva, protože jsem díky tomu měla to poštovné zdarma, že jo). 😂 Phoebe's untraditional, first person, very teenage narrative is full of asides, bulleted lists, and conversations formatted almost like theater scripts (instead of "she said," it's "she was like:"). There are no formal chapters, just dated diary headers, each accompanied by a clever hashtag. The bite-sized chunks take some getting used to, but ultimately they contribute to the steady pace of Phoebe's tale and take us so intimately into Phoebe's psyche that we genuinely care how all the chaos turns out in the end.The Nottinghill Carnival takes central stage in this story about families, memories and the power of dance and festivals. Author Yaba Badoe tells...