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

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Knížka mě pobavila, pohladila po duši a vytáhla ze čtecí krize. Na to, že je kniha určena pro mladší čtenáře (kolem 15 let), je dost sexuálně otevřená, ale nikoliv prostřednictvím milostných eskapád hlavní hrdinky, což je příjemná změna. Knihu hodnotím 4 a půl hvězdami, protože na svůj žánr a věkovou skupinu je to jedna z nejlepších knih, co jsem kdy četla… ale přece jen mi tam chybělo to něco málo, díky čemuž bych z knihy byla naprosto nadšená. 😂 Overall, this was a solid read with many enjoyable facets. The diary writing style made it very engaging and kept me invested. There was great open dialogue about sex and sexuality for this mid-teen age group. I would definitely read this author again. Because it's written in first person in the form of a diary, we're reading a lot between the lines which I really enjoyed. It was hilarious to see Phoebe protesting about things and insisting how much she doesn't care when her actions clearly suggest otherwise. She can be quite nasty, but at the same time she's very accepting and she's able to admit her faults. She can be rude, but I found her bluntness quite refreshing. I liked that she said what she thought and was all for honest communication. She's actually a pretty decent person under all the self-pity and sarcasm. That’s what she’ll do. She won’t think about Emma. Or talk about Emma. Or spend time around Emma. And she definitely won’t kiss Emma. Right?

Phoebe, the protagonist is the kind of character with a big chip on her shoulder, shes spikey, hard to like and I only just got to like by the end. Despite her character, there are many reasons to still enjoy the book because not every protagonist regurgitates hearts and rainbows. Phoebe is on a journey in this book, reconciliation with the state of her maternal relationship, finding first love and losing friends. I found it to be a compelling read. In this story of hope and endurance, we follow a scientist and her team during their search for the elusive 'Giant Arctic Jellyfish'. Phoebe is 15. She’s living with her godmother in Wimbledon, England, because her mother is away in yet another war-torn country helping others with an organization that send medical professionals where they’re needed most. She never knew her father, who was killed before she was born. So she lives with her godmother Kate and 2 designer cats that Kate is going to breed. All is well and good (which is another way to say I don't have any friends and I'll say I'm perfectly fine with that when I'm anything but) until one day one of Kate's designer cats go missing and Phoebe decides to work at Kate's shop to repay her. I has so much fun with Love Is for Losers! I’ve heard this book described as Bridget Jones’ Diary, but written by Bridget’s daughter. I could see that, especially if Bridget had an affair with Deadpool, because Phoebe has a lot of that biting, sharply intelligent snark to her. That is a character I can get behind.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. Love is for Losers is written as six months worth of diary entries from the main character as she lives with her godmother, gets through her GCSEs, and falls in love while her mother is away on a humanitarian mission. 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. On the 20th of April, seemingly out of nowhere, the debut album by new band The Longshot dropped. This wouldn’t normally cause many ripples, except for the fact that they are the new side project of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. Cue the lovers, the haters, the die-hards and blow-hards lining up to throw in their two cents, but how does the album measure up in its own right. Louder Than War’s Nathan Whittle takes a listen.

There are a lot of fun, sharp jokes here, but there is a lot of depth in this story too. I liked how themes of grief and abandonment were explored. There is a slow burn queer romance. There is a thrift store. And there are cats. Designer cats. Overall, a simple and fun UKYA F/F romcom that I'd certainly recommend to younger readers who want to find an LGBTQ+ novel with a younger heroine who is still figuring things out. However, in my defense, I believe it would've been impossible for anyone to put a book down when the first line goes like this - Did you know that you can marry yourself? How strange/brilliant is that?At first, Phoebe's acerbic wit comes across as simple teen angst, but there was a bit more behind it. She never met her father, her mother was always off saving the world, and her best friend abandon her. Phoebe explored all these pain points over the course of the book, and though she didn't always handle the situations in the best way, she did grow to see things in a different light. A funny and life-affirming take on all the big stuff you experience through puberty: love, sex, death, family, intergenerational friendships, heartbreak, kittens and kisses that turn the whole world upside down. So Phoebe makes fun of people and thinks she’s superior to them because she’s above emotions, etc., etc. Lest you think that LOVE IS FOR LOSERS is a sad sort of book, though, it isn't. Even though abandonment, depression, and grief are explored, there's also all sorts of delightful things in this book. Things like thrift stores, cats and kittens, first love, positive female role models, female friendships, personal growth, and a pretty accurate look at the world from a teen's eyes. I'll understand why some people might be put off by Phoebe as a character, and if she had been handled less competently I might have ended up putting the book down, but I like she grew as a person over the novel and began to develop a sense of empathy from the coaching of her friends and family. She even begins to adjust her behavior and slowly learns to be more forgiving and accepting of others.

A ty jo, ono se mi to překvapivě hodně líbilo. Teda s tím přirovnáním k Sex Education bych byla trochu opatrná, sice jo, společné prvky tu jsou - obojí je britské, v otázce sexu dost otevřené a do určité míry je to obojí queer, ale čekat od té knihy přesně to samé, to by byla chyba. Oproti Sex Education je ta knížka méně vyspělá, lehce naivnější a ani zdaleka nemá tak skvělé postavy.All in all, Love Is For Losers is almost perfectly executed and while it will naturally divide Green Day fans, it has already been made clear in no uncertain terms that those that don’t get it or don’t want it are more than welcome to leave it. Those that do however will find a great collection of songs that see Billie Joe Armstrong and his new band clearly spreading their wings and embracing the pure delight that comes with unleashing a new project. Phoebe is not the most likeable protagonist. She is judgemental, bad with people, and messes up a lot. Today I thought about the phrase “falling in love” again, and I finally totally get it. You fall. You trip, and boom! It’s entirely unintentional, not like a parachute jump (which is called “jump,” not “fall,” for a reason). I don't see many heroines in LGBTQ+ focused YA being below 16 or 17, so it's really nice to finally come across a fifteen-year-old heroine who is just trying to figure everything out. Phoebe is not only falling in love for the first time, but she's also completing her GCSES. As a result, Love is for Losers not only looks at the experience of first love and teen friendships, but also at the effects of exam stress that many contend with each year when doing GCSEs. Tuhle knížku jsem se vůbec nechystala číst, kdyby mi od YOLI nepřišlo reading copy, tak o ní pořádně ani nevím. Nakonec jsem se rozhodla ji zkusit, protože ji anotace přirovnává k Sex Education a protože při prolistování mi bylo jasné, že půjde o hodně rychlé čtení, jelikož je kniha vedena jako deníkové zápisky. A já zrovna rychlé, oddechové čtení chtěla, tak jsem po ní sáhla.

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