Book Review: 'Girl Online' by Zoe Sugg (a.k.a Zoella)

I read this book, which I bought months ago on my Kindle, in little snippets of time I found throughout last week, and then in one particularly long reading session last Friday night!

I heard about this book because I enjoy watching YouTube, and while I've only watched a handful of Zoella's actual videos, the Youtubers I do follow on Social Networking lead me to this relatively recent book! Around the time of its publication, there was a lot of talk about how it had been 'Ghost Written' meaning that Zoe had considerable help in writing it, so much so that there are many parts she didn't write. Whether, or to what extent, that is true never really fussed me. I mean, she was a first-time author and obviously the name of a famous YouTuber is going to sell more copies than any other name. She's still an incredibly talented woman who has worked her butt off to put together a novel and get a publishing contract. Who are we, as unpublished people, to criticise? Its not like she didn't acknowledge her supporters at the back of the book.

Anyway, back to the novel itself. Brief Summary: Socially Awkward Penny suffers from anxiety, but when she and her family end up taking a last minute New York trip with her parents' company for Christmas and New Year, she meets Noah and he just seems perfect. How will the pair's feeling develops, and what are the consequences of distance and secrets?

Pictured: Author & Youtuber Zoe Sugg (plus 'Girl Online' cover)

Ok, so that brief summary turned into more of my own blurb for the book haha, but you get the drift.

I really enjoyed the book as a light-read, and thought that the fact that it dealt with anxiety, panic attacks and techniques for dealing with these things was very useful. I was also fairly glued to the book because I'm a hopeless romantic and it was perfectly soppy ;)

However, unfortunately I did predict some of the key 'shocking twists' very early on, and therefore found it to be quite a predictable read. My friend had told me before-hand that it was quite unrealistic, and I would definitely agree with this, but hey, a girl can dream right?
 Wouldn't we all love the man of our dreams in New York and for our wee blog to be a massive hit that got 300 comments and went viral? Haha xx

Overall, definitely worth it as a fun read with cute and quirky characters, particular Penny and her best friend Elliot, and good on Zoella for powering through the initial criticism, but maybe not a particularly high-level novel