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allthatissim 's review for:
The Exact Opposite of Okay
by Laura Steven
Full review on: Flipping Through the Pages
This book, guys! There should be more people talking about this book. I never expected this to be a full 5 stars read but now it is one of my favourites. Once in a while, there comes a contemporary which makes you think and question the world around you. The Hate U Give was such a book for me and now, this book is one of them.
Trigger warnings: Revenge porn, slut-shaming, bullying, sexual harassment, publicly outing someone
Diversity: Side queer character, side Nepali-American character, side Brown character
The story is about Izzy, a high school senior, who has developed an incredible sense of humor and sarcasm and has been using these as a coping mechanism since the death of her parents in a car accident when she was just five. Since then she has lived with her grandmother, Betty, who works extra shifts in a low-income job in a diner to support them. It is Izzy's dream to do something with her wit and her writing skills and aspires to be a screenwriter. But at a party, someone captures photos of her one-night-stand with a politician’s son and later creates a website and put the photos there and well, she goes viral. People start posting all the mean stuff for her and her life changes completely. Izzy soon realizes how this world is different for boys and girls, how they are treated differently.
To be frank, in the beginning, I didn’t like Izzy that much. I found her to be a normal teen with a good sense of humor. But she evolved so much as a person and her journey was remarkable and praise-worthy. She was fierce and bold. She never believed in taking bullshit. She would make you laugh and cry for her. She has flaws, a lot of them, but she owned them proudly. She was vulnerable but she knew what she wanted. If you love badass heroines in YA, here is a one for you.
The voice of Izzy, that Laura Steven has created, is sarcastic but thought-provoking, bold but unapologetic, hilarious but heartfelt and above all, it is unabashedly feminist. [b:The Exact Opposite of Okay|41824556|The Exact Opposite of Okay|Laura Steven|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541865587s/41824556.jpg|57317990] speaks about some harsh truths about the world around us. It’s rebellious. It is definitely a tough book but it has been told with simplicity and yet you can feel the strength of the words. This book is not sugarcoated at all. She talked directly and straight-forward what’s the truth, the injustice that’s been happening with women since ages. It’s not a damsel-in-distress story. Our heroine is bold and fierce but vulnerable at the same time, much like real life characters in a real-life story. You will laugh at Izzy’s punchlines but she will also make you cry and root for her in her bad time. You would feel angry for her and would like to fight the world on her behalf. Apart from being a feminist story, it also talks about White Privilege, unfavored sexuality, racism and even the friend-zone concept.
When it comes to side-characters, my favourites were Izzy’s grandmother, Betty, and her best friend, Ajita who was Nepali-Indian-American. Izzy’s relationship with her grandmother was so lovely. She was so open to her and shared everything with her, from her school life to her sexual life. They cared for each other and supported each other. She got the humor and witty nature from her grandmother.
Ajita was a sweetheart and everyone needs a best friend like her. Izzy and Ajita fiercely protected each other. When every kid in school was harassing Izzy, I loved how Ajita tackled them with counter wit. Their friendship was so relatable, even the spat between them. Even when they hurt each other, I loved how they made zero excuses for it and were genuinely sorry for hurting each other. I loved the diversity and representation that Ajita and her family brought to the story. My Indian heart was really happy to see the mention of an Indian festival and Indian Gods
This book, guys! There should be more people talking about this book. I never expected this to be a full 5 stars read but now it is one of my favourites. Once in a while, there comes a contemporary which makes you think and question the world around you. The Hate U Give was such a book for me and now, this book is one of them.
Trigger warnings: Revenge porn, slut-shaming, bullying, sexual harassment, publicly outing someone
Diversity: Side queer character, side Nepali-American character, side Brown character
"Bitches bite back. And men hate that. Society hates that."
The story is about Izzy, a high school senior, who has developed an incredible sense of humor and sarcasm and has been using these as a coping mechanism since the death of her parents in a car accident when she was just five. Since then she has lived with her grandmother, Betty, who works extra shifts in a low-income job in a diner to support them. It is Izzy's dream to do something with her wit and her writing skills and aspires to be a screenwriter. But at a party, someone captures photos of her one-night-stand with a politician’s son and later creates a website and put the photos there and well, she goes viral. People start posting all the mean stuff for her and her life changes completely. Izzy soon realizes how this world is different for boys and girls, how they are treated differently.
"What do I want to be now? Bold. Fierce. Honest. A fighter. A revolutionary. A bitch. Because the way the world treats teenage girls – as sluts, as objects, as bitches – is not okay. It’s the exact opposite of okay."
To be frank, in the beginning, I didn’t like Izzy that much. I found her to be a normal teen with a good sense of humor. But she evolved so much as a person and her journey was remarkable and praise-worthy. She was fierce and bold. She never believed in taking bullshit. She would make you laugh and cry for her. She has flaws, a lot of them, but she owned them proudly. She was vulnerable but she knew what she wanted. If you love badass heroines in YA, here is a one for you.
The voice of Izzy, that Laura Steven has created, is sarcastic but thought-provoking, bold but unapologetic, hilarious but heartfelt and above all, it is unabashedly feminist. [b:The Exact Opposite of Okay|41824556|The Exact Opposite of Okay|Laura Steven|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541865587s/41824556.jpg|57317990] speaks about some harsh truths about the world around us. It’s rebellious. It is definitely a tough book but it has been told with simplicity and yet you can feel the strength of the words. This book is not sugarcoated at all. She talked directly and straight-forward what’s the truth, the injustice that’s been happening with women since ages. It’s not a damsel-in-distress story. Our heroine is bold and fierce but vulnerable at the same time, much like real life characters in a real-life story. You will laugh at Izzy’s punchlines but she will also make you cry and root for her in her bad time. You would feel angry for her and would like to fight the world on her behalf. Apart from being a feminist story, it also talks about White Privilege, unfavored sexuality, racism and even the friend-zone concept.
"This entitlement has to stop. The world owes you nothing. Girls owe you nothing."
When it comes to side-characters, my favourites were Izzy’s grandmother, Betty, and her best friend, Ajita who was Nepali-Indian-American. Izzy’s relationship with her grandmother was so lovely. She was so open to her and shared everything with her, from her school life to her sexual life. They cared for each other and supported each other. She got the humor and witty nature from her grandmother.
Ajita was a sweetheart and everyone needs a best friend like her. Izzy and Ajita fiercely protected each other. When every kid in school was harassing Izzy, I loved how Ajita tackled them with counter wit. Their friendship was so relatable, even the spat between them. Even when they hurt each other, I loved how they made zero excuses for it and were genuinely sorry for hurting each other. I loved the diversity and representation that Ajita and her family brought to the story. My Indian heart was really happy to see the mention of an Indian festival and Indian Gods