Review: A Girl Called Shameless

A Girl Called Shameless by Laura Steven
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an amazing read. I didn't think Laura could top The Exact Opposite of Okay but this is fantastic. It touches on a lot of very deep issues and does them all lightly and without preaching. Izzy's friends are a mixture of genders, ethnicities and sexualities, and none of it ever feels like box ticking. Just brilliant. I would read twenty more novels set in this universe.

(Parents be aware, Izzy swears a lot. It all fits beautifully into her speech patterns and this book wouldn't be half as good as it is without it, but it is there. Also, given the subject matter, there is a lot of discussion of sex and bodies.)

I received a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.


My friends are awesome. They knew what I needed before I did.

When I finally emerge, like a butterfly from a cocoon [or something that makes me sound like less of a d***head], Ajita and Meg are working on a giant protest sign shaped like a pair of boobs. As I walk down the stairs the squeal girlishly and clap their hands together like performing monkeys. And I'll give it to them...I feel awesome.

What's more, I feel normal. Like a normal teenage girl, having a normal night in with her pals. Coloring our hair, gossiping about boys, watching TV. As great as all the Bitches Bite Back stuff is, and as passionately as I feel about it, just being a regular eighteen year old instead of an inadvertent political figure is super refreshing.

And it's selfish, so selfish, but part of me prays neither of them go away to college. Because if they do? I'll be left in this town alone, knowing the world is moving on without me.

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