Monday 1 May 2017

BOOK REVIEW | 'Confessions of a High School Disaster: Chloe Snow's Diary' by Emma Chastain (****)

Hey guys, and happy Monday! Today I am excited to be sharing yet another book review with you - I was quite chuffed about the amount of books I managed to read over the Easter break!

The book I'm going to be reviewing for you today is Confessions of a High School Disaster: Chloe Snow's Diary by Emma Chastain. I was kindly sent this book by Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.

Confessions of a High School Disaster is a wonderful book written in diary form following Chloe Snow and the pinnacles and disasters of her High School experience. From boys, family problems and rivalries with the not-so-nice seniors, Chloe has a lot on her plate. Will she be able to navigate the ups and downs of High School life without drowning in the deep end?

Intrigued? Check out the blurb here...


In the tradition of Bridget Jones’s Diary, a lovably flawed high school student chronicles her life as she navigates the highs and lows of family, friendship, school, and love in a diary that sparkles with humor and warmth.

I’m Chloe Snow, and my life is kiiiiind of a disaster.

1. I’m a kissing virgin (so so so embarrassing).
2. My best friend, Hannah, is driving me insane.
3. I think I’m in love with Mac Brody, senior football star, whose girlfriend is so beautiful she doesn’t even need eyeliner.
4. My dad won’t stop asking me if I’m okay.
5. Oh, and my mom moved to Mexico to work on her novel. But it’s fine—she’ll be back soon. She said so.


Mom says the only thing sadder than remembering is forgetting, so I’m going to write down everything that happens to me in this diary. That way, even when I’m ninety, I’ll remember how awkward and horrible and exciting it is to be in high school.

This book is definitely for the younger end of YA - I'd suggest fourteen and up - however there was so much in this book that I could relate to, having once been a teenager myself (what a strange, strange time). Issues such as peer pressure, relationships, family problems and bullying were dealt with in this book, and I'm pretty sure every teenager will be able to relate to this book in some way. This book reminded me of the Louise Rennison books (which were my lifeline when I was a teenager), and Confessions of a High School Disaster is definitely a book for the next generation of teenagers.

I loved the fact that the book was written in diary form and it made it so easy and fun to read - Chloe is a great character and I love how she isn't presented as being perfect in any way - she makes mistakes, she says the wrong thing, she isn't afraid to be herself and more than anything, she realises that even when things go wrong, your family are always there behind you.

This book also featured a wide range of diverse characters - something I always look for in YA, and something that is especially important in the younger end of YA. People of different religions and sexualities are included and when an author makes the effort to do this in their book, you know that they have the interest of teen readers at heart. 

My favourite character was definitely Chloe's Dad, and I loved the relationship between him and Chloe. I think in YA there is such an under-representation of father/daughter relationships and I think in this book the relationship was so wonderfully and sensitively explored. 

I loved this book and although I think it is for the younger side of YA, if you love YA books you are sure to love this! Filled with humour, heart and larger-than-life characters, Confessions of a High School Disaster will make you smile, cry, and cringe as you are transported back to the moments of your own teenage years!

Check out when I hosted Emma Chastain on my blog, where she is talking about the importance of keeping a diary!

Buy Confessions of a High School Disaster here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chloe-Snows-Diary-Confessions-Disaster/dp/1471160467/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1493639867&sr=1-1

Check out Emma Chastain here: https://mobile.twitter.com/emmachastain?lang=en

Until next time :)

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