holes in my brain

full review can be found on my blog, holes In My brainNOT THAT KIND OF GIRL bundles of so many things into a ball of energy and awesome, and I say that in the fondest way possible. Natalie Sterling is who would be a foil or even the antagonist in the plenty of YA contemp novels, I mean she’s the determined and controlling straight-A student, Student Council president and uptight to the tenth degree. She’s so strong in her personal beliefs that it is both an advantage and hindrance for her, but that’s only the beginning as her ideals starts to unravel.Vivian crafted a dynamic story that beautifully reflects the ups and downs of a character under pressure to do the right thing and project an image of perfection in a high school scene. Natalie isn't shielded from the consequenes of her own actions, and what makes this book work is that realism. Natalie isn't immune to flaws and neither is any other character in the book.The themes of feminism shine through in a subtle manner. Natalie and Spencer have opposite opinions when it comes to some aspects of feminism, especially female sexuality. Character foils are used to explore feminism in the novel but I’m eternally grateful that it never turned into a preachy message-- it was done with finesse.I felt the pacing in this book was well done because it had the potential to drag on since it lacks explosions, but the author kept things reigned in tightly and carefully avoided dreadful pothole clichés. The romance could have ended up ridiculously predictable, and I was so glad it didn't. The plot itself is nothing spectacular, but I felt through 3-dimensional characters and sharp writing; this novel can hold its own against even the best in the genre.NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL is a novel that many teens can relate to, it is a novel about insecurities and finding your place, exploring who you are and change, about image and hypocrisy and feminism and so much more. It’s about the boxes and labels people are shoved in only for everyone to find out the box must’ve been mislabelled. It’s about ‘that kind of girl’… wait, what kind of girl is ‘that kind of girl’??4.5/5 – because I really loved so many things about this novel, namely the characters. Vivian does a fantastic job navigating the tricky holds of high school, relationships, sexuality, and personal growth. She has created well-rounded characters that I could just read about all night long, and might I mention that I seriously couldn’t put this book down? Not That Kind of Girl is a somewhat underrated read that I really think contemporary fans shouldn’t miss out on.