Thank you for the review copy! Unfortunately I stopped reading this book at around the halfway mark as it wasn’t really engaging me - it had a lot of the typical “new girl meets popular kids” tropes and not enough to stand on its own for me to continue with it. However, I think it has a lot of potential and definitely think there will be readers who will enjoy it a lot more than I did!

A Massive Thank You to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book prior to its release date.

Absolutely loved this book!

The writing style was really good and I look forward to reading any other books from this author in the future :)

Sadie Starr's Guide to Starting over by @mirandaluby is the YA novel I wish existed when I was a teenager! 💕

It follows a whip smart teenager, Sadie, as she changes schools and tries to change who she is - to be the perfect daughter, friend and student. I felt like kindred spirits with Sadie, who is an intense perfectionist.

Sadie befriends the popular girls at her new high school, who have started a so-called feminist campaign against an alleged creep. I really liked Luby's nuanced take on the current teen's reckoning of women's rights and accountability. 👏

Luby's writing was sophisticated and atmospheric. Definitely one for the YA lovers out there!

A warning for any potential readers as this novel does deal with eating disorders and OCD.

This book was not my cup of tea. I didn’t feel connected to Sadie, Daniel, or Alexa. I wish there was more diversity in this.

I enjoyed how Sadie Starr's Guide to Starting Over tackled heavy themes and topics relevant in teens and adolescents in real life. I do think because of the nature of these topics, some precautionary warnings could be included at the beginning because I can see how it could be triggering to some. Overall, I liked the growth of Sadie's character and the vulnerability of the book as a whole.

Sadie Starr is obsessed with starting over. Anything that gives her a chance to be a better version of herself. So when her dad’s job moves the family interstate, Sadie’s excited for a fresh start. It’s also the perfect excuse to leave behind the mess she’s made with her best friend and secret crush, Daniel, whose advances she rejected – for fear of screwing things up. But at her new school, life gets complicated fast. She meets glamorous Alexa and her pink-badged girl gang, on a mission to ‘support women’, and outcast Jack, who the girls say has been stalking fellow student Loz. But Loz gas a different story. Sadie wants to fix everything, but soon her life could be in chaos.
This book was okay. There was a lot of triggering topics like binge eating disorders, ocd, etc. The book showed how a lot of Sadie’s behavior led to her disorders. Like her obsession with trying to be perfect and when she wasn't, there was a lot of self-hate and unhealthy eating habits. There was also a lot of toxic friendships I wasn't a fan of. Overall, I wasn't expecting this book to be so heavy for a YA based on the summary.

I really enjoyed this book. Sadie was a very likeable character, one of the only ones! I flew through this.

It's a book that should be approached with caution and the trigger warnings heeded so the reader can make an informed choice before reading but that being said Sadie Starr's Guide to Starting Over is a great read. flawed characters who go on a growth journey and are easy to relate to, the plot is well paced and engaging,

A big thank you to Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. I think this was great. And, omg?? the main character isn’t a pain to follow?? (literally, my standards are set too low by my ever-continuous doubts).

This book contains a lot of trigger warnings though, I wasn’t even aware of that, so be sure to check them first before reading!

Tw : ED, OCD, body-shaming, drugs & alcohol. (lmk if something is missing)

Surprisingly enjoyable read. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it but I did. Definitely worth the star rating - looking forward to more.

Did not finish. The writing on the sentence level isn’t bad but I’m just not engaged by the characters or the storyline. The premise sounds interesting, but we have to get through the familiar new-girl-at-school and starting over and magically falling in with the new "cool" people she meets to get there. The characters unfortunately felt flat, and I couldn't get hooked as much as I wanted to like this one.

The whale blows again, a sound like the whole world's sighing , and I'm awash with melancholy. I get this feeling sometimes when I think about nature and climate change. A deep, despairing ache from all the awe and loss and fear. It's a feeling that's too large for my chest. Too large for the whole universe. And as the whale sinks below the surface, it's like something I barely had the chance to appreciate is slipping through my fingers.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC!

Original Rating : 4.5/5.

Sadie Starr's Guide to Starting Over is a remarkable, remarkable book. I want to quote every single line for they capture the loneliness in my heart and my failed attempts to motivate myself to be better. I think any students as well as the adults can relate to the struggles Sadie goes through. The unnecessary drama and powerplay in schools, cool kids ordering around and bullying the quiet ones, the pressure to stand out, the anxiety and sadness when parents are fighting between themselves, the hollow feeling that seems to linger forever, the pressure of having a picture-perfect older sibling and following her footsteps - Miranda portrayed every situation with perfection. With captivating writing and raw emotions, she kept me glued to the pages. The suspense of what's going to happen next and how the story's going to end was killing me. Internally, I think I was also trying to find a solution to my problems. Don't we all do that? Put ourselves in our characters' shoes and live their lives. The characters are well-developed, messy and as humane as the rest of us. It was so heart warming, sad and inspirational. Definitely recommended!

While I appreciated the big themes in SADIE STARR and enjoyed Sadie's characterization, I do think this book could have used a trigger warning before going into it. There's no mention of the Binge Eating Disorder in the description, and it felt a little bit shocking to have such a weighted topic presented with no forewarning. Overall, though, Luby's writing was very strong and I did enjoy the book, but I would have appreciated trigger warnings.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a NetGalley arc of this book. Overall rating- 3.75/5 stars.
Trigger warning: Eating disorders, OCD, anxiety

This book was an enjoyable YA book regarding the many issues that teenagers may face whilst in high school. The main theme and focus of the book was the main character’s struggle to remain in control with her life and struggling to grapple with new changes. This manifested into disordered eating patterns. I found this aspect of the book really interesting. I also enjoyed the characters in this book and found them enjoyable.

My critique for this book is some of the chapters didn't have much purpose and served as filler chapters. I felt as though some of these could be developed to contain more insight into the characters and their struggles.

I really enjoyed this LoveOzYA title, and look forward to reading anything that Miranda Luby writes in the future!
Sadie Starr's Guide to Starting Over was an interesting and fresh coming-of-age story, with great mental health rep, that felt really realistic and well researched. The Melbourne setting was interesting and vivid.
Definitely recommend for fans of Kay Kerr, Danielle Binks, and Nina Kenwood.

REVIEW: When Sadie Starr's family moves from Sydney to Melbourne, she decides to seize the opportunity to make herself over. This move will help her forget how angry her BFF Daniel was after she kissed him. It'll mean she does better in school all the time. She'll definitely keep her room clean. And she absolutely will not gain weight or chow down on snacks.

I really enjoyed this Aussie YA book about a teenage girl trying to seize control of everything around her while trying to fit in at a new school, in a new city. Performative feminism, friendship, disordered eating, and bullying are all covered in a realistic, non-preachy way.

It's the kind of story I think a lot of young people (particularly 13-15 year olds) will see themselves in. This would be a great read for the teens in your life—or anyone who wants to see what the kids are up to these days. I also kind of want to see it be turned into a miniseries...?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC to read and review. Unfortunately, I won't be able to continue reading at this time and I wanted to share thoughts right at the publication date. I really enjoyed the voice for this book, and it feels fresh and authentic. Our main character, Sadie, gets a literal chance to start over -- which is a really cool premise, and I was looking forward to seeing how she literally sheds her past and how she acknowledges it in pursuit of her future self. I didn't realize from either the description/marketing blurbs or the introduction/ early chapters that disordered eating content was going to be such a foundation for the story. I plan to return to this book when that's something I can handle.

Thank you To Miranda Lucy, NetGalley and Text Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a great coming of age story that introduces Sadie Starr, she is strong, flawed and good natured young girl.

I think there should have been some trigger warnings either in the summary or the beginning of the book which are(in my opinion): binge eating, body shaming, bullying and drug and alcohol use.

This book includes all issues that teenagers go thru. School issues, friend trouble, boy troubles. The way Sadie handles them is truly amazing. By the end of the book I was rooting for her.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Because maybe this is where life happens. On the border between potential happiness and potential heartbreak. Between everything falling apart and everything working out perfectly."

Sadie Starr is starting over again... and again... and again. When her family moves from Sydney to Melbourne, Sadie leaves behind her best friend, Daniel. At her new school, Sadie is excited to become friends with the popular kids. But things quickly get complicated and as Sadie befriends other not-so-popular students, she's unsure where her allegiance lies. Add in crushes, struggling with an eating disorder and trying to ace her studies to please her father, and Sadie's life is anything but smooth sailing.

There's no doubt Sadie is a flawed protagonist, but it's her imperfections and struggles that make her so relatable. I think most people will see a piece of themselves reflected in Sadie, whether that's her home or school life, and thus will easily empathise with her. "I wonder what version of myself I'll be unpacking when I get home."

I think this is a really strong debut and refreshing coming-of-age story from Miranda Luby. I found the storyline to be both unique and interesting, and I felt right at home in the Melbourne setting, having lived there before. I definitely recommend this book to fellow Australian YA enthusiasts.

Thank you to Text Publishing and NetGalley for the early copy of the book.