Sad Girls was such a great story. It really sucked you in and was so well written.

A life changing lie, an unintended result. Could everybody possibly moved on?

A significant and beguiling debut that didn't take away the mystery and character of Lang Leav's previous works. It shouldn't surprise me that Sad Girls top it all off, but it did! Equally compelling and fascinating with interesting characters, a crooked plot and a shell shocked ending! I couldn't put it down!

***Thank you Netgalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Lang Leav for providing me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

***The review of this has also been posted on goodreads.

I haven't read Lang Leav's poetry, but lots of people recommend her books, so I was very excited to read her first novel. However, "Sad girls" has been a huge disappointment for me.

At the beginning I was enjoying it. I mean, it is not a happy book, but I like that it focuses on the friendship between three girls, how it talks about grief and loss, how it faces anxiety and panic attacks, and I also appreciate the diversity of the characters.

I find really interesting, too, that this story talks about the need of finding yourself and knowing who you are before you start a relationship (self love before romantic love). Even though this is not the final message...

There's a lot of drama in this book but I could deal with it. Let's face it, the book is called "Sad girls" so it wasn't unexpected. And I wouldn't mind all this drama, not at all, if the things were wrapped different in the end. But to me the story feels unresolved, and there are two things that bothered me a lot:

*SPOILERS*

1) When the rumors about Ana and her father spread, everybody blames, criticises, or confronts her, but no one defends a young girl who might be sexually assaulted by her father, and it infuriates me.

2) The fact that Rad is condoned for faking Ana's suicide "because it was everybody's fault" is bullshit.

TRIGGER WARNING: suicide, drug use.

Sad Girls is a dark book with a twist. It delves into topics like the mental health, drugs and suicide. Lang Leav's debut novel is beautifully written like her poetries. Can't wait for her next book!

It's a good book, but not really my style. I was looking forward to read Lang Leav's debut novel, because I truly enjoy her poetry. But for some reason - and I'm sorry for that - I couldn't find a connection with these characters, so it felt like I was reading a book for school. She did a good job, though. It's not bad written, it's just not for me. I hope she keeps writing more novels, maybe I'll like the next one.

[ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange of an honest review]
Readind Sad Girls was like watching an indie movie. Lots of nothing, terrible people, a crazy plot twist and a what-the-hell-ending. I didn't like it.
I was really anxious to read this and when I finally picked up, it was a mood killer.
The writing style is really good, but everything in the story was so convinient, Audrey got a job, Audrey got a house, Audrey got forgiveness, just like that. Way too convinient for me. It was pages and more pages of random things happening, pages and pages of nothing.
I spent the entire book angry at Audrey for that absurd lie she told, and what a sick lie, just to end up hating Rad.
I understand the choices the author made, the way she chose to tell this story, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I think I had my expectations too high.
My last complainings goes to the way the author treated mental illness — it was careless and unrelatable— and to the fact that there's absolutely no character development in this book.

Lang Leav is the author of several bestselling books of prose and poetry – Love & Misadventures, Lullabies, Memories, and The Universe of Us. The literary world fell for her beautiful words – as did the hearts of millions of readers worldwide. Leav has announced the publication of her very first debut novel, Sad Girls, which will be released on May 30th online and in bookstores. (You can pre-order it now on Amazon).
Lang Leav’s poetry is insightful, beautiful, and distinct. I was extremely eager to find out how her detailed usage of language and sentimental style of prose would translate into a novel. I also wondered if her words – when written in a novel – would resonate with me the same way her poetry did. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect, but I knew I had to find out.
“Ana was the original sad girl. She held the unofficial title long before her death. We all became sad girls after that.”
When high-school senior Ana commits suicide, her death leaves an impact on the entire community, particularly one group of her classmates – Audrey, Lucy and Candela. Because Audrey had spread a terrible rumor about Ana, Audrey feels guilty, and ultimately, responsible for Ana’s death.
Stricken with feelings of grief and severe panic, Audrey experiences anxiety-driven symptoms and behavior. Nobody knows her secret, and she knows she must never make it known – not to her family, not to her best friends, and not to her sweet but terribly boring boyfriend, Duck.
When Audrey begins spending time with Ana’s ex boyfriend, Rad, everyone in town has something to say. As their friendship grows, Audrey latches on to the strong connection and the ease it brings to her seemingly out-of-control life. While Ana’s death always lingers in the back of Audrey’s mind, her worries are easily forgotten when she’s with Rad. They spend hours simply engaging in conversation, and Audrey is inspired by him, his mysteriousness, his passion for writing, and his way of seeing the world.
Despite these feelings, Audrey cannot bear the thought of being responsible for hurting her boyfriend. After they have both graduated high school, she cuts ties with Rad and they agree to never speak to one another again. Audrey finishes school and begins working for a magazine, and soon crosses path with Rad, who has become a bestselling author. To Audrey, their encounter doesn’t feel coincidental – it feels like fate.
Sad Girls is a beautiful and heartbreaking coming-of-age story about experiencing love.
“Your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to – it’s the person that breaks it,” Leav writes. Audrey’s love for Rad is strong, but she deals with many conflicting emotions, including her desire to explore and live life on her own.
Beneath the surface, the novel has a deeper message. Audrey soon realizes that she isn’t the only one hiding a dark secret, and that nothing is what it seems. Everyone has a different way of coping with life in light of Ana’s death – some characters in the novel struggling with drug and alcohol abuse.
Sad Girls was everything I had hoped it would be – and so much more. Lang’s writing shines in a way that is beautifully vivid and poetic without being overly descriptive. The plot is fast-paced and engaging. At the end of the novel, Leav presents one extremely shocking twist that left me speechless.
I found Audrey’s character likable, and her struggles very relatable. Each of the characters are anything but perfect, and that’s what made this novel so real to me. Dealing with topics such as anxiety, depression, and suicide, the novel is especially relevant in this day and age.
For years, I have enjoyed her poetry, and I am pleased that she has taken her writing one step further with the publication of her first novel. I cannot wait to see what she releases next!

*3.5 Stars*

This was the story of Audrey. Audrey is seventeen when she starts having panic attacks. They start after she tells a huge lie which has lots of big consequences.

I loved the writing. I flew through the book and it was really agreeable to read.
But I didn’t really like the characters. I mean I related to Audrey and the anxiety but I couldn’t really love her. By the end of the book, I still couldn’t figure out why she told the lie in the first place. I did like the relation she had with Rad, it felt true, right. But I had trouble with how it came to be.
I couldn’t stand Audrey’s mother and the society, the town they lived in where everyone seemed to always be watching. It also seemed like boys and girls couldn’t be friends without being into each other, or talk to each other without being interested in a romantic way.
I guess I kinda liked Lucy, one of Audrey’s best friend but we barely saw her.

I guess I’m still conflicted and can’t really tell what I thought of this book because even though it felt captivating while reading it, when I think back about it, I’m feeling kinda bitter?...

“Your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to—it’s the first one who breaks it.”

Sad Girls by Lang Leav is a dark but beautifully written coming of age story that covers many issues that teens go through today, such as, anxiety, drug abuse, suicide, dark secrets, and death. Lang Leav shows us how love can be both beautiful and heartbreaking, and most importantly, she shows us how one decision can change our entire life forever, and quite possibly change the lives of those around us. This book pulled me in from beginning to end. This was definitely deeper than I ever could have imagined. I can't praise this book enough -highly recommend!

*I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I used to hear a lot about Lang Leav whenever I logged onto Tumblr. There would always be a quote from one of her poems, or someone gushing about how amazing her writing was. I prefer novels over poetry, so when I heard that she had written a book, I was pretty excited to check it out and see if her writing really did live up to the hype.

School is almost out for Audrey, but the panic attacks are just beginning. Because Audrey told a lie and now her classmate, Ana, is dead. Just as her world begins to spin out of control, Audrey meets the enigmatic Rad – the boy who could turn it all around. But will their ill-timed romance drive her closer to the edge?

Ok, so the synopsis doesn't give much away which is brilliant because this is definitely a book that you need to go into without not knowing anything, so I'll try and keep even minor spoilers out of this review, but it's going to be hard! I'm just going to start off and say that I hated Audrey, Candela, Audrey's Mom and Rad (sometimes). There were probably more but I just can't remember. Audrey is this spoilt, whiny teenage girl who just expects life to happen for her. She expects everything to go her way, and that she doesn't have to work for it. She's rude, selfish, self-centered, abusive, and a cheat. Wow. Ok, so that all sounds really harsh when I've typed it all out, but it's true. I don't even know if Leav meant for Audrey to be like - or come across - like that... If she didn't, then I guess Audrey was badly written. I have a sense that she wasn't though, I think that we were meant to root for her throughout the book, but all I could think about is how unaware she is of the pain that she's caused. I know she has the panic attacks when anything reminds her of what she did, and I know how horrible panic attacks can be (believe me, I've been there), but panic attacks seemed to be some sort of 'thing' that was used to gain pity and I didn't like that. I didn't want Audrey's panic attacks to make people feel sorry for her. I wanted them to make her stronger, to face her demons and tell the truth to get rid of her guilt. But she didn't. She ran away.





"I was struck with the cruel affliction of anxiety. It came in the form of a panic attack, seemingly out of nowhere - a bolt from the blue. Like a thunderclap in my chest, an icy river down the length of my spine. Terror and confusion clawed at the edges of my brain as I clutched fistfuls of the sweat-soaked bedsheets I had slept fitfully in, just moments before."

- Lang Leav, Sad Girls





And that's just Audrey. Don't even get me started on her bloody Mom. God... SHE WAS JUST AWFUL! Towards the end, she got slightly better, but I just wanted to slap her. And then there was Candela. She was also self-centred and I felt like she was just a character that was there to create a bit of drama every now and then. She didn't add anything to the plot at all. Same with Lucy - but I really did love her. She was one of the characters that I really liked. She worked her ass off to try and keep everyone grounded, and she always tried to get people to see the bigger picture. I just wish that there was more of her in the novel because she was the only character that I didn't want to repeatedly punch.

I guess I've put you off reading this book, eh? Don't worry, it's not all bad. I think it was just the characters that really got to me. The plot itself was amazing. It was fast-paced, shocking, but also really relatable. I liked how the characters took time for themselves to do what they wanted to do in life add they didn't let things stop them from fulfilling their dreams. Sometimes, they came off as much older than 19/20 because they had full-time jobs and houses and here I am, at 21, still living with my parents and working at a retail store 8 hours a week. I was just sat there like "surely they should be something like 25 if they're doing all of this?" I was completely baffled by the whole age thing but oh well. I guess some people actually do all of those things earlier than other people.





"Your first love isn't the first person you give your heart to - it's the first one who breaks it."

- Lang Leav, Sad Girls





The ending as well?!! Oh my life, I think I nearly choked on my cup of tea. I did not see that coming. AT ALL! That was a bloody amazing plot twist, and I loved it. I will never be able to understand why Audrey chose to do what she did though in the epilogue, and you will understand what I mean if you read the book.

So. we have horrible characters who just kept on making really bad decisions, we have one awesome best friend who doesn't deserve horrible friends like Audrey and Candela, but then we also have this amazing plot-driven novel that keeps you on your toes and also keeps you guessing the entire time. I read this in one sitting, I think it took me about 3/4 hours? Something like that. I raced through this book because I just couldn't get enough of the plot.





"If you know what it's like to want someone so much you would kill for them. If you know what it's like to feel someone so deep under your skin you would sacrifice everything to protect them, even if it screws up your own moral compass so you can't see right from wrong. If you're like me, then let me leave you with this: That's what love is. Don't let them tell you any different."

- Lang Leav, Sad Girls





Overall, this book is three stars purely because of the story line. If it wasn't for that, I think I would have DNF'd it. But I really do recommend that you read this. If you try and look past the handful of awful characters, this book is just pure entertainment that will have you glued to your seat.

Warning: this book contains trigger warnings for depression, anxiety, self-harm, drug abuse and death.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 30th May

I love Lang Laev and this felt recognizable as her, but also different and new. I liked it a lot.

I can honestly say I didn't see the ending and then the epilogue coming. That doesn't happen often. I can't say I was shocked. I just didn't see it coming.

If I had to find fault there are a couple points that I think a good editor would correct. They just didn't make sense. They might be minor details, but still, they were glaringly amiss for me and really bothered me.

However, once I started this novel I had a hard time putting it down. At first I just kept thinking that this would be a great novel for older teens. It would keep them engaged and hopefully some valuable life lessons could be seen. As I read I found myself not even thinking of the audience it could engage, as I was enjoying the novel more than I even expected, despite the couple of flaws that bothered me.

No the characters weren't perfect. However, what 18 - 20 year old is? Or, as this novel points out, what adult or parent is for that matter?

I have no problem at all as seeing this as a runaway hit when it's finally released.

This review pretty much sucks, but in my defence, I'm really still a bit shell shocked from the ending and I'm not at all sure how I feel about the whole thing...Despite that, I didn't find it that it was done for shock value. I found it very true to the characters. Yes, both *surprises*...

Wow! Lang Leav's first novel did not disappoint, it was a crazy but good story that pulled me in and I couldn't stop reading. I was mad at the main character for telling such a horrible lie but the author did an amazing job at still making you relate to her and feel sorry for her and reminds us that we all make stupid and sometimes what ends up being terrible mistakes. This book has so much in it. Lang's first novel is a masterpiece. It's brilliant, captivating, and more serious and thought provoking than I was expecting it to be. I didn't see the twist at the end coming at all. I love a good book with a twist and I loved this book for many other reasons too. This book clearly shows how one lie can change everything and ripple out to effect so many people. Also, this story does a great job showing how love can really mess you up and that love can indeed have quite a dark side to it and love isn't​ always what you think it is. It also does a great job showing what it's like to have anxiety and panic attacks and to live with anxiety. This book has a lot of darkness in it, but still some hope too. I absolutely loved this book and am so thankful that I got to receive an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review. This is one that I will most likely buy a copy of because I enjoyed it so much and could see myself reading it again. Highly recommend!

i have been a fan of lang leav’s work for YEARS, so when i heard that she was releasing her first full length novel, it immediately became one of my most anticipated releases of 2017. needless to say, i had been impatiently awaiting its release in may, but to my surprise & extreme delight, i randomly stumbled across an eARC of it on netgalley & i instantly downloaded it (thank you so much netgalley!!)

now, onto the actual review. first off, lang leav’s writing, as always, was absolutely breath taking. her way with words never fails to amaze me. there’s a reason i’ve been a fan of her work for so long. but aside from that, i am not really sure where to even begin. i don’t want to say too much, seeing as how this book still won’t be hitting shelves for another month. furthermore, i am still reeling from the ending, & am still trying to wrap my mind around everything that happened in this novel. this book is not called sad girls just for the hell of it. throughout this book, & certainly by the very end of it, you may not end up liking all of the characters, and you certainly may not agree with or even understand why they did some of things that they did. this was not an easy read. it was heavy. it was dark. it was hopeful. it was tragic. it was beautiful. it was ugly. it was profound. it was everything that life can be-it was REAL. it covered a variety of topics and hard hitting issues including mental illness, drug abuse, grief, and suicide. it also showed love in all of its forms, & how it can be both beautiful and tragic. and most importantly, this book showcased how one decision that we make can not only impact and change our lives forever, but also spread like wildfire and influence and change the course of the lives of those around us. it makes you stop and think about how different things in your life, as well as the lives of others, may have been had you not done that one thing.

one of the biggest things that drew me to this book in the first place (aside from the fact that it was written by lang leav, of course) was the fact that i knew from reading a summary of it that it includes a character that suffers from anxiety. i have suffered from anxiety & panic attacks for as long as i can remember, & anyone who has never experienced on going anxiety & panic attacks themselves will never truly understand how it feels. even as someone with anxiety, i find it hard to convey what its like to other people. that being said, i was very much impressed with how accurately anxiety was portrayed in this book; it was written in such a raw, unflinchingly honest way, and i am so grateful to lang leav for not holding back and shedding light on what people who suffer from anxiety go through.

there is so much more that i could say about this book (& probably will say as i will more than likely add to this review at some point after the book is actually released) but for now i am just going to end this review with a list of trigger warnings. (if i think of any more i will certain edit this review to include them)

trigger warnings: drug abuse, self harm, suicide

I can't ever remember being as disappointed in a book as I am with this one. I've never read any of Leav's work, but I've heard fantastic things about her poetry - I saw her as a writer to look out for. When I found out that she'd written a novel (which I prefer over poetry) I thought I'd give this a try first. I had such high hopes, and even put aside other prize-winning books I had planned to read in order to read this one, which in hindsight was a massive mistake. This book was so bad, I'm considering changing some of my other 1 star reviews because they were nowhere near this level.

I don't doubt Leav's talent. Throughout the novel, you caught glimpses of writing that were utterly beautiful. However, her writing was vastly overshadowed by the lack of plot, melodrama, and just pointlessness of the story.

I don't want to post too many spoilers because the book hasn't been published yet, but here are some of my thoughts. Any death was pointless. Candela was a filler character for melodrama even though to begin with it looked like she was inherent to the story. Lucy was an invisible sidekick. Audrey was a melodramatic, ungrateful brat who lied, cheated, and led people on just because she couldn't see anything beyond her own bubble of "me me me". And yet everything was handed to her on a plate? It's like people were laying down their jackets over puddles for her just so she didn't get her shoes wet - CONSTANTLY. I mean, I wish we could all be that lucky, but in reality, stuff like that barely ever happens. So yeah, she's not exactly Miss Relatable. Plus her sheer dickery and abusive behaviour towards most of the other characters was horrible.

I mean, this is supposedly a book about anxiety and panic attacks! I've been suffering from panic attacks since I was 17, and have been officially diagnosed with OCD since the age of 10. Audrey's experience is still not relatable. I know anxiety is different for everyone, but for me, the experience was downplayed and just seemed to be included to make the character seem more vulnerable? Having panic attacks and anxiety is exhausting and shattering and absolutely terrifying. It's life-changing, and although there was an attempt at portraying it as that, it didn't resonate with me. This may also be to do with how unlikeable Audrey was - maybe if I had warmed to her then I would've appreciated the exploration of anxiety. It'd be interesting to read reviews from people who view Audrey completely differently - seeing an alternate perspective may help me to view this book differently.

I will admit that after 40%, I knew Sad Girls would be getting 1 star and that probably biased and compromised my enjoyment of the rest of it. The synopsis hints at a plot, but that disappears within 30 pages. Plus, there is a bit in the book that belittles OCD - you know, the whole "Yeah I'm a little OCD with that". So you're a little Obsessive Compulsive Disorder about it? Firstly, grammatically that makes no sense; secondly, it belittles the experience of people who do suffer from OCD. I was really surprised to see that in there - if you're writing a book about suicide and mental illness, a big no-no is only taking certain kinds of illnesses seriously. I do not respect books that make light of mental illness or are exclusionary - you can't pick and choose which mental illnesses you're going to take seriously. That quote, although a small snippet, really hit the final nail into the coffin for me.

Right, okay *breathes*. This is probably one of the biggest rants I've ever had about a book, excluding Fifty Shades of Grey. I have no doubt of the author's integrity and purpose of this book, and I understand that it's a debut and that writing can improve. I know my review is negative, but there were occasional parts I enjoyed, and it held promise of better things in the future. I didn't like the book, and some of my critique is quite blunt, but this is in no way an attack on the author. I respect her for writing a novel and respect the intent of the book, even if for me it didn't follow through.

Sad Girls drew me in because of the summary, but I found a story more profound than I ever could have imagined.

Audrey's panic attacks begin after she spread a rumor that led to the death of a classmate. Her life spins rapidly out of control. She has to deal with the consequences of her actions while figuring out how to handle her anxiety. On top of that, she is trying to figure out who she is.

I will never be able to express how much this book means to me. The portrayal of mental illness is vitally important; Leav thrilled me with her portrayal. Anxiety was never written about as a bad thing. People supported her! To see that being shown was important.

Throughout this novel, there was another topic I found important: girls supporting girls. This is something I was to see more of in novels. I'm so glad it was displayed so brilliantly throughout this novel.

I didn't want to put it down once I started. I hope everyone picks this book up and gives it a chance.

What a deviously dark debut! This novel was a roller coaster ride for my emotions! From beginning to end, Leav Lang pulled off this disturbing plot with suspense building on each page.

By far the best book I have read this year! I am so excited for this book to be published so I can buy my own copy and read it whenever I want. I am more than impressed with this book!

This book covers topics such as mental health, death, abuse, drugs and bullying. The fact that this book talks about so many different and important topics in under 400 pages astounds me. I was hooked from page 7, not once did I want to put this book down - it is that captivating. Leav has done an amazing job at keeping the story interesting whilst also going over some hard-hitting aspects of life.

So much happens in the book that I never expected to happen. Some parts of this book were so shocking that I actually shivered. I also cried throughout this book. The characters in the book are so well described that I felt like I knew them, which for me, rarely happens.

I feel as though I will never be able to explain how amazing this book is. So you'll just have to read it yourself to understand how brilliant this book is.

"Your first love isn't the first person you give your heart to; it's the first one who breaks it."
This story has it all, you will not be able to put it down!

A wonderful and moving tale about mental health. Will definitely buy this when it's published.