From this book, it is obvious that Ms. Sheinmel is a fan of The Breakfast Club. In addition to a direct reference, the book is set up on the same premise of everyone having multiple identities. I liked it. It was a good way to really get to know the characters and their conflicting emotions. I also liked how she presented the uncomfortable nature of dealing with partner abuse and the second guessing by those who knew the perpetrator and victim and even by the victim. But maybe it was overdone? I was left with a feeling of neurosis and paranoia. Did we all feel like this during our teen years? Wondering about this got to the point where I think they overwhelmed the abuse story itself and by the end of the book I was humming Green Day's "Basket Case."

This took me quite awhile to get into. I just didn’t get why all the characters in the first part of the book cared SO MUCH about this situation. Yeah, since people knew about what happened, it’d be talked about, but I just found each character’s inner monologue on the subject to be unrealistic. I then found out that there was a somewhat-purpose for the multi-character views in the first 2 parts, but I still really found it unnecessary. It made it really hard to connect to the characters.

It wasn’t until at least mid-part 2, where I understood these multi-character perspectives, and that part 1 and part 2 were both character perspectives of the same time period, that I was able to delve into the book. But even still, I didn’t really get hooked until part 3, which gives us a dual perspective from the 2 main characters, the girlfriend who was hit, and her best friend.

Because we had so many perspectives in the first 2 parts, I just felt like the same thoughts, and the same feelings were being mentioned so repetitively, and it made me feel like a text book written by a teenager. The ending felt wrapped up into a pretty bow, 2 girls with personal issues both were able to come to terms and deal with those issues, by themselves, and at the same time. However, it did do well, displaying that it’s not okay, that it’s important and necessary to tell someone when something like this happens. However, I feel like we needed a resolution for the boyfriend character. It built up to one specific plot point, and then ended before it got to that point, with no known outcome. But overall, I think this is definitely an important book, showing that kids get into situations like this.

This is definitely an 'issues' book. Issues YA books are really important for the intended reader (which I am not) but I could still appreciate them. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

There are trigger warnings for this book, they are as followed:
-dating abuse
-bulimia
-self harm
-victim shaming

What I liked:
-Format
-Characters
-Overall meaning of book

What I didnt like:
-At first the format
-The main girl character
-The adults


This book tackles a lot of issues very quickly to where you need to get used to it at first. The format was something I also had to get used to because at first I hated it. This story is about a girl who comes out and says her boyfriend has been hitting her. This is in a high school setting so this is a huge deal. There are 4 POV and they are labeled as "The Girlfriend" "The Popular Girl" "The Bulimic" and it's following their understanding of what happened. The main guy who is the boyfriend of this story is supposed to be the perfect boyfriend. The popular guy, the football player, and the boy with just everything. He does have a brother with special needs so I wish I heard more about that. I think it would have added another layer of getting to know the "perfect boyfriend". Overall I think the book did a great job with hitting each topic it wanted to cover and I think it could be a book that helps something through tough times. The victim shaming was a lot to handle as someone who was in a similar situation BUT I think it was handled a little better further on in the book.

This book was very good it represented how abused victims act when they are trying to get out of the situation. The only problem with problem with book was the POV was very confusing because I thought they were different girls but it turned out they weren’t

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader's copy of What Kind of Girl through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to them and the publishers for this opportunity.

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel is a young adult contemporary novel that comes out on February 4th.  It is a poignant story that is highly relevant to today's society as it deals with sensitive subjects in a nuanced way.  I gave the novel 5 stars on Goodreads.

Here is the summary from Goodreads:

Girl In Pieces meets Moxie in this unflinching exploration of the many forms of abuse society inflicts upon women, and the strength it takes to rise above it all to claim your worth.

The girls at North Bay Academy are taking sides. It all started when Mike Parker's girlfriend showed up with a bruise on her face. Or, more specifically, when she walked into the principal's office and said Mike hit her. But the students have questions. Why did she go to the principal and not the police? Why did she stay so long if he was hurting her? Obviously, if it's true, Mike should be expelled. But is it true?

Some girls want to rally for his expulsion—and some want to rally around Mike. The only thing that the entire student body can agree on? Someone is lying. And the truth has to come out.

This book was so good.  I was drawn in by the cover, sold on the summary, and blown away by the story.  As always happens with a NetGalley eARC for me, it did take me a little while to get into it.  However, once I was interested, I found myself obsessed.  I had a really hard time putting it down and ended up finishing it in one sitting.   I just had to know how everything was going to play out.

As you probably have learned from reading the summary, the book does deal with some sensitive subject matter.  An obvious content warning for this novel would be for the domestic abuse.  However, I would also like to inform you that this novel discusses eating disorders, bulimia specifically, and cutting.  There is also a fair amount of drug use.  I don't have any triggers, personally, but there were definitely some unsettling moments in this story, specifically for me in the depictions of cutting.  So I feel that I have to do my due diligence and make sure that I give you a heads up before you pick this book up at my recommendation.

The book sets out as a multi-point of view novel.  Initially none of the girls are named, and they are simply identified by a 'cliche' aspect of them or their personality such as 'The Popular Girl' or 'The Girlfriend'.  It makes you wonder who each of these girls are and how they are going to play into the story.  The reveal of how they all played into the story was super fantastic, and also admittedly a little confusing.  I know that sounds contradictory, but it made me think a fair bit and then once I processed it, I was rather impressed.

I want to be careful not to spoil too much in this story because I think that the ways that the layers peeled back are totally worth waiting for.  Therefore I am going to try and keep my review rather general.  I loved the way the story was written.  I really enjoyed the different points of view and seeing how different characters had different perceptions of the other characters and then comparing those perceptions to how the characters saw themselves.  This story is really about how you have to understand that people are more than just a label, and also that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to most people.  That was a really highlight of the story for me.

Another major highlight of the novel was the friendship of the two main characters.  It came across in a really realistic way.  They had their differences and struggles.  Bad things happened, but in the end it brought them closer together.  Obviously, that doesn't excuse the bad things that happened, but it was interesting to see them fight for their friendship.  It was really well done.

I also think that the way that the sensitive topics were dealt with was handled well.  None of it felt glorified, and the characters seemed to understand that what they were doing wasn't good.  The novel did a good job of showing how sometimes these things can seem gray at the outset and be more complicated for those involved then one might think.

Overall, I highly recommend this book, so make sure you check it out when it comes out!

This book brought so many real issues to light, which is amazing. It was written different than any book I've read, and the mystery of Part 1 kept me reading. However, I found it slow, and I did not connect or feel interested in the storyline. This book has the power to shed light on so many things for so many people, it just didn't work for me.

Alyssa Sheinmel’s stories has always had the power to completely blow my mind. I absolutely loved Faceless so when I saw that this book was on NetGalley I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity to dive back into her work.

Before I start this review I would like to mention that this book has a lot of content warnings and contains depictions of dating abuse, bulimia, mental health and self harm. Please be aware of that before going into this book and if you think that one of those factors would trigger you then it’s perfectly okay not to read this book until you’re ready to.

Now, on to the review.

I loved this book. I loved everything it stood for, I loved the message it put across and I loved the format it was told in.

Maya and Junie, our main characters, each are struggling in their own way and are finding it hard to find someone to lean on. Instead they are finding other ways to cope. These two characters are undeniably strong and I honestly found myself able to connect with both of them emotionally.

I’m always quite weary reading a book that depicts mental health and abuse in fear that it won’t be a good representation but Alyssa Shienmel has done perfectly with this book and shows the true struggles that people go through, especially young adults. I felt myself being able to relate to every panic attack, every worry and every single doubt these young girls went through.

What Kind Of Girl is a book about finding your self-worth. It’s about realising that you are worth so much more in life, that you should never be ashamed of who you are and that there will always be someone to lean on as long as you open up to those closest to you and not hide it away.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcefire Books for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 out of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire

I thought that the first part of this novel took a really interesting and unique approach. It is told through different POVs with no names so you may be following The Girlfriend, The Popular Girl, The Burn Out and so on. That really pulled me into the story. "What Kind of Girl" tackles some very hard topics and does a pretty good job with most of them.

This is kind of a hard book to review without giving too much away so I will try my best to just discuss the main story which is really the lynch pin of the book anyway. One Spring morning a teen girl goes to the principal to report that her boyfriend has been abusing her. She is embarrassed and confused. She doesn't know what to do but she remembered as a kid that you were supposed to tell someone if you were being hurt. Eventually we do actually find out who is is and I think it actually came at the proper time in the book for me. The only reason I didn't give this a higher score was that I did feel that in the end things were settled a little too cleanly. That doesn't mean that this is not a great book to read though and I would totally recommend this book.

I came across this book on #NetGalley and read the synopsis. It immediately grabbed my attention and I knew I needed to read it. You have two main characters: Maya and Junie. They are best friends and they're both harboring secrets.

Maya finally comes forward and reports that her boyfriend, the most loved boy in her school, has been hitting her. Junie is known as a cutter but no one outside of her and her parents knows she suffers from OCD and self mutilation. Secrets are revealed, tough issues are discussed and two young girls pave new paths for themselves.

A new coming of age novel that talks about tough topics and covers things from LGBTQ, abuse and mental health. This is one I think is imperative for any young person, or person raising children today, should read and take to heart. I was moved emotionally by these stories and hope that others feel this resounding message as well.
⠀⠀⠀⠀

I haven't read anything from this author but after reading this book will definitely check out her other books as well.
What Kind Of Girl is a really well written teen drama. It has really engaging and realistic characters and talks about some emotionally, really relevant and resonant topics.
The quality of the writing and the relevance of the story had me hooked from the beginning of the book. It is
a very good read and even with the slightly unsatisfactory resolution, I was completely gripped by the protagonist, Maya's tough decisions and with her feelings.
I loved the topics discussed and the way it was addressed as well. This is the type of book that has the ability to deeply affect many people. It definitely impacted me so much so that I actually took a few breaks to process it and when I finished the book it left me thinking for a long time.
That's always a big plus when you are left pondering and thinking about the book.

I definitely recommend going into this book not knowing too much about the story. You will not be disappointed.
It will leave you thinking.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.

What a great and hard hitting story!

Told by the point of view of two girls over the course of seven days, this story revolves around one of them admitting that her boyfriend has been hitting her. What kind of girl doesn't leave an abusive relationship? What kind of girl stays and keeps letting it happen? What kind of girl doesn't speak up? What kind of girl self harms? What kind of girl bottles up her problems and doesn't let people around her know the real her? I thought this was written very well, if not a little repetitive at times... It demonstrates the different ways that people identify themselves. They adopt a persona like a mask they wear; how they feel like they are that person when they wear that mask.

This book had a lot of intense themes! Abuse, self harm, poor mental health. while this book should definitely have trigger warnings, I feel that the things in this book are necessary. Just because they aren't "good" things doesn't mean they aren't reality. As despicable as these things are, abuse happens, victim blaming and victim shaming happens. Self harm and poor mental health is tragic but it is a reality that needs light shed upon it to bring awareness. This book was written pretty graphically in some of these themes. But it was a wonderful read that I think NEEDS to be read!

This book hands so many topics in a careful and thoughtful way. Unfortunately, it took me way too long to get the whole story format. Which is understandable considering how the chapters are formatted. I feel like this book will be and do great things. I just didn't fully get it.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* A few trigger warnings for this book - gender based violence, drug use, self-harm and bulimia. This is quite a hard-hitting book that touches on a number of important topics for adolescents today. It was very engaging and I read it quite quickly as a result. The book does change between different characters' points of view which, whilst it can be at times confusing to remember from whose perspective the chapter is being written, it ultimately contributes to building up the layers of the story. The book focusses on the lives of a group of teenagers at North Bay Academy, a private school in California. Their world is rocked when Maya walks into the school principal's office and accuses her boyfriend Mike - the school's golden boy - of hitting her. A story that is supported by the bruise on her face. I am conscious of not providing any spoilers so don't wish to delve too much further into the plot, but it is probably suffice to say that the trigger warnings at the start of the review give a good idea about what other important issues are explored in the novel. An important and timely read.

Content warnings: Book content warnings: bulimia, self-harm, mental health (OCD, anxiety), dating abuse, drug usage, cheating.

I am going to try and keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

This book was absolutely incredible, and so very important.

The story was told from multiple perspectives, and I thought that really brought the story to life.

Abuse (domestic violence, in this case) doesn’t always wait until you’re married – it can happen at any time, and this book shows it. It shows that you don’t even have to be in a relationship for that long before something like this can happen.

Throughout this story, a lot of the blame is put onto the girlfriend for “taking so long” to report it and for “staying with him” for months after the first time Mike hit her. But as any survivor of any kind of abuse will tell you – it isn’t that easy. There is a lot of blame placed at the girlfriend’s feet and almost none of it put at Mike’s, even though he is the one that hit her – more than once.

There are other characters throughout this book who have a myriad of issues (which I listed in the book content warnings above), and it just shows a snippet of what people are going through on a daily basis that we may not see with our own two eyes.

I thought that this was written incredibly well, and handled the topic of dating abuse with the care that it deserved.


I am also grateful for the resources at the back of the book that young girls can use if they, too, are in an abusive relationship. There needs to be more of that kind of stuff in books.

And I also appreciated that the copy I read had content warnings at the start of the book for its heavy topics – more of that in books, too, please.

This powerful book really made an impact on me.

4.5/5 stars

What Kind of Girl is one of those books that, regardless of your opinions on its execution, you have to acknowledge is vitally important for its willingness to openly address difficult social phenomena that society likes to sweep under the rug. It is a heavy read, but in a necessary way, not the maudlin sort of sob-story that is an inherent risk of writing about so many serious issues that teens face today.

“Doing something when you’re scared is braver than doing something when you’re not.”

It’s hard to summarize this story, because of some “clever” narrative devices the author tries to use (more on those in a moment). All you need to know is that, when Mike Parker’s girlfriend comes to school with a black eye and says Mike gave it to her, her life–and the lives of her best friend and several others–are about to be changed in a major way. Some believe her, some don’t, but all seem to agree that something happened, and someone has to face consequences.

“Bad love is no better than not being loved at all. I think it might be worse.”

Writing about problems like mental illness, relationship abuse, and eating disorders is not uncharted territory for YA novels. A defining trait of YA is the desire to shine light on teenagers as whole, complex people facing problems of their own–whether those problems are overthrowing a corrupt government (a la The Hunger Games), combatting racism (as in The Hate U Give), or fighting drug addiction (like Crank and other Ellen Hopkins books). In the case of What Kind of Girl, though, Alyssa Sheinmel casts a wide net that encompasses multiple very real, very weighty, very complicated problems, and articulates the often-confusing interplay between various situations, symptoms, and comorbidities. Problems like self-harm and bulimia are not just alluded to but described in painful (though not romanticized) detail, through the constantly over-analyzing eyes of the teenagers who struggle with them. The main characters ruminate over their every choice, about “what kind of girl” their actions will brand them as in the eyes of others–when reduced to the simplistic terms of others’ opinions, how can you possibly hope to feel fully understood?

“I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for him! What kind of woman am I, worrying about what he’s going through? What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?

And, truly, the character development is handled wonderfully. Here we have teenagers who struggle to find their places amidst pressures to succeed academically, to have the perfect relationship, to look perfect, and to always make the right choices, even when there isn’t truly a “right choice” to be made. They hurt deeply and care deeply in that way that only teenagers are able to, when the problems they face are so narrow and specific and omnipresent and acutely crippling as a result. They second-guess themselves, blame themselves, hurt themselves, while doing all of those to each other was well. They are multifaceted and self-aware, but they also struggle to make the necessary choices for personal growth.

“That’s the kind of person I want to be…I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to do all the things I want.”

For all its success in narration and character development, though, What Kind of Girl does have its fair share of flaws. Its pacing is sometimes difficult to work with, dragging for long sections while characters are lost in their own thoughts. Although these thoughts are crucial to establishing the characters’ internal turmoil, they get unnecessarily prolonged in some places, especially in moments that would otherwise be incredibly tense, causing the narrative to stall when it needs to accelerate.

“What kind of girl doesn’t want to get the guy in trouble? Maybe the kind of girl who stays with a guy for three more months after the first time he hit her.”

My other frustration was with the author’s choice of structure for the first two parts of the book, refusing to name the girls in the story at first and instead referring to them by labels like “the popular girl,” “the girlfriend,” and “the best friend.” She has a reason for doing this, which makes sense in the context of the story, but the author overplays her hand at the start, foreshadowing the “twist” too heavily–I caught on almost right away–and confirming it too early, which weakens its effectiveness as a narrative device.

“I didn’t really see why it was less significant because it happened in high school, when we all had our lives ahead of us. If we were talking about anything else–drugs, drinking, sex–it would have been a bigger deal because we were only in high school, because we had our whole lives ahead of us, because the things that happened now would impact our futures.”

Still, even despite its flaws, this is a significant book for teenagers everywhere–especially teenage girls–as they fight to maintain their sense of self amidst the shifting tides of their social lives and the oft-contradictory elements of their personalities that develop as a result. It is easy to render teenagers as simplistic, self-absorbed thinkers, but in her writing, Sheinmel is keenly attuned to the fierce-yet-fearful flutterings of teenage anxieties, and to the agitation for justice that thrums beneath the surface, no matter how difficult the two may be to reconcile. This book is a testament to the fact that, even as everyone is one-of-a-kind, nobody is ever so simple as to be just one kind.

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS: abusive relationship, slut-shaming, vivid description of cutting/self-injury, teenage drug use, anxiety, OCD, bulimia

TW: Physica Abuse, Bulimia, anxiety, self harm, ocd

What Kind of Girl is a young adult contemporary novel following the events that occur at a high school after the “golden boy” is accused of physically abusing his girlfriend. The story is told from multiple point of views, each POV is labeled, not with the characters name, but with a stereotype label. The Popular Girl, The Girlfriend, The Burnout, The Anxious Girl, The Activist, The Cool Girl, and The Bulimic. We experience the after affect of the Girlfriend coming forward about the abuse from these POVs as the school tries to come to terms with this scandal.


Things I Liked
* The multiple POVs allowed for the reader to see all sides of the event. We saw those who did or did not believe the news, the friends of the victim, the friends of the accused, and may others.

Things I didn’t Like

* The label “The Bullinic” don’t get me wrong I understand what the author was trying to do using these high school stereotypes to comment on the events and stereotypes themselves. However, labeling someone by their mental illness is something that I can’t not mention as something that I didn’t like. I and many others have been labeled by our disorders which isn’t a good feeling. While I do get the authors choice I do not appreciate it especially since we are not given names for the characters they are only known as the label they are given.

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel explores relationship violence in teenagers, the struggles of labels, and mental illness.

What does it take to step forward and speak out against the person you love?

When Mike Parker's girlfriend shows up with a bruise on her face to school, she decides enough is enough. She tells the principal what happened and the abuse she's faced at Mike's hands.

Now the school is up in arms. Is she telling the truth? Was it a misunderstanding? Why didn't she come forward sooner?

And most importantly, which one of the two is lying? Because that's something the student body knows: either Mike or his girlfriend is lying.

The school begins to pick sides, and Mike's girlfriend struggles with the repercussions of her decision.

Meanwhile, her best friend is struggling with demons of her own. Can the two girls come together--stronger than ever--to fight for what's right and bring the truth to light?

I really enjoyed reading What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel. This is the second book by Alyssa B. Sheinmel that I've read, and I'm thoroughly impressed by her ability to explore such deep, thought-provoking topics and handle them with the utmost care and attention.

The way the chapters were laid out was brilliant. Each chapter began with a label like "popular girl" or "cool girl." The girlfriend and the best friend each have labels assigned to them, and the book delves into each label. As an individual, you can be a lot of things: popular, cool, anxious. We are more than a label, and I think the book promotes that concept perfectly.

The messages in the book were strong. Whether talking about eating disorders or anxiety, the book dives in deep!

My key takeaways from the book are this: it's okay to stand up for yourself, and it's okay to not be okay.

I highly recommend What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel to other lovers of contemporary young adult books. Keep in mind that there are several sensitive topics covered in the book, so be kind to yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how part #1 unfolded; revealing different POVs a tiny bit at a time.
I do wish that the author had changed the format starting with part #2.
I think it would have worked better for me.
Obviously this is a difficult topic to address with class as well as reality.
I think the author did a good job of accomplishing both.
The book seemed to drag a bit for me and I would have liked a little better pacing throughout.
Overall a okay read.
Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for my DRC.

4.5 rounded to 5 stars

'What Kind of Girl' is the type of book that has the ability to deeply affect many people. This book impacted me in a visceral way, and I can tell that I will be left thinking about it long after I closed the last page.

One of the main reasons I loved this story so much was the raw emotions it pulled from me, as well as the ways it made me question my own morals. That in itself is one of my favourite parts of reading. Simply through experiencing another's life for a few hundred pages- your mindset can shift.

This book begins with a girl going into her principal’s office with a black eye. Her boyfriend Mike, the ‘golden boy’ hit her- and it wasn’t the first time. The book shows the school’s reaction, the mixed opinions, the victim blaming, the justifications people come up with.

I recommend going into this book not knowing much apart from that, as it is very easy to be spoiled. Even saying the character’s names is a potential spoiler, and I have seen several reviews giving too much information.
A unique element of this book is using superlatives like the popular girl, the bulimic, the burnout etc. to tell the story. It is up to you to try and figure out the connection.

Trigger warnings for graphic depictions of self harm, daring abuse, homophobia, drug use and bulimia.

I am a person who gets triggered rarely, if ever, by books. However, in some scenes, I had to close the book and get out of that headspace for a few seconds. To me, that was part of the intent of this book. By creating an uncomfortable and uneasy feeling, readers can experience empathy that will hopefully transcend from fictional characters to real people experiencing these very real problems.

What Kind of Girl didn’t necessarily have a satisfying ending, but I think that suited this story. Wrapping it up with a neat little bow is, unfortunately, unrealistic. And pretending that it isn’t would feel dismissive of those who have actually gone through this situation and have to deal with repercussions.

Overall, if you feel you can handle the subject matter- I would highly highly recommend picking this one up when it releases in February.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the advanced copy!