Girl Online is a novel about a young girl named Penny. She goes to New York with her family for Christmas and meets a boy called Noah, a mysterious musician. But under the icy sun a secret is being kept, a secret that could ruin Penny's cover as an anonymous blogger called Girl Online.
This book is a great read. It is the first book by Zoe Sugg who is a popular Youtube sensation known as Zoella. It is aimed towards young girls as this is her main audience. The character of Penny suffers from panic attacks and anxiety. I think Zoe did a good job on the character as suffering from anxiety herself, she can really help some people. There are parts in the story where Penny is given some advice and there is some good information to help or improve your views. The story is quite romantic but sometimes quite dramatic. It gives you a taste of the life of a blogger and also how you could face online bullying. This is important as teenage girls often want to make videos and don't realise the risks of the internet. I liked the chapter length as it helps the flow of the story. It is written in a breezy style that helps with the understanding of the serious parts. If there was a sequel to this I don't know if it would be as good as this one!
Overall, although Zoe had help writing this book, her ideas of characters and storyline are just right for her followers. It doesn't make any difference to how much I enjoyed reading it. It only took me a week, I couldn't put it down. I read it as soon as I got up in the morning and as soon as I got back from school. Any teenage girl would love it. It leaves you with a positive message that even if your life isn't great right now, something good might come your way. I learnt things from this book and I think that's the point. My favourite book this year and I give it 5 stars!
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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