I read this book in English. It is to be taken into account that any inconsistencies, or differencies in the narration, you might find when reading the same book in a different language are probably due to a translation issue.

SYNOPSIS

Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began… and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.

Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t fix. Her best (and only) friend is pulling away. Her mother’s drinking problem is a constant concern. She’s even running out of outlandish diseases to fake so she can skip PE.

But when Aideen stumbles on her nemesis, overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the midst of a full-blown meltdown, she sees a problem that—unlike her own disaster of a life—seems refreshingly easy to solve. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help. By pushing Meabh down the stairs.

Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when another student learns about their little scheme and brings Aideen another “client” who needs her “help,” it kicks off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own, but it might be the push she needs to start.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: absent parent, child neglect, alcohol abuse, bullying, cheating, gaslight, toxic friendship.

REVIEW

From the blurb I expected this book to be centered on romance but actually it revolved more around Aideen’s problems, social life and friendships. The romance is practically nonexistent, if not for a few scenes with some sexual tension and a kiss.

‘Not My Problem’ follows Aideen, a witty and kinda chaotic teen with tons of problems of her own but decides to solve others’ problems instead of solving hers.

She uses sarcasm as a coping mechanism.

When the story begins, she only has two people, her mom and her best friend, Holly. Both, damaging her self-worth and influenceing her in different ways and her, always making excuses for them. By the end she goes through character development and finally decides to work on her own problems and has a supportive group of friends: Meabh (the love intrest) and Kavi.

I liked how mischievous these teens are and how Ciara portrayed some harsh topics about Aideen’s story and the reality behind Meabh personality. What I also appreciated a lot was the part about toxic friendships and friendships break-up. Been there, done that. I’m a girl that get it.

On another note tho, I found Aideen’s jokes and sarcasm, and Maebh know-it-all personality to be annoying af. Throughout the book we get insights of what is going on in their lives and I get it where they’re coming from. Believe me, I get it. But still… I can’t stand the way Aideen’s talks.

I don’t know if it’s because my sense of humor is broken or maybe because I’m becoming too old to emphasise with these teens? I genuinely don’t know, but at times I wished I could hit Aideen and yell CAN YOU PLEASE FUCKING STOP USING SARCASM IN EVERY SINGLE DAMN SENTENCE AND CONVERSATION?!

*deep breaths*

Another unpopular opinion: Kavi is kinda creepy, if you ask me. Yeah, he’s funny and all but like… how and why he keeps appearing and disappearing out of the blue any time the two girls are talking or whatever? 

Anyway… aside from these lil notes, overall, it was an enjoyable okay read. A coming of age novel with lots of humor and life lessons.

MY RATING: 🦋🦋🦋