Thank you NetGalley for providing me an Arc of this book! I absolutely loved this story and read the whole thing in one sitting. Sadie is a character I could really relate to throughout the story. I also loved all the side characters and how well-developed their personalities were. It truly was such a wonderful read and I highly recommend reading it!

Sadie Starr is the kind of character you remember long after you've finished the book. She's going through some stuff. It is big stuff. And she's suffering alone. She appears, on the surface, to the kids at her new school, as if she's pretty together, she's hanging out with the cool girls, even though some of their attitudes seem a bit off, she's tried to talk to the troubled boy next door but it seems like the rumours of his utter weirdness might be true. The cute boy Sam at the new school seems to think she's cute and her academic success seems to be on track. It all looks like Sadie is doing really well. But she isn't. She's sad that her relationship with her long loved bff seems to have become broken. They aren't talking and it is breaking her heart. And then there is the binging that seems to plague her life. Eating a vast amount and then starving herself, running until she can't move and calorie counting at an extreme level. It it a lot. Her mum puts pressure on her to look good, and her Dad is working too hard, and on at her about her academics.

So, with all this going on it is no wonder she is drawn to the popular girls, and excited to be accepted into their group. They call themselves feminists and are all about the rights of women, but there is a tone to it. Something that just doesn't sit right. The queen of the group Alexa, daughter of a famous actor and with money to burn. Alexa anoints her followers with badges to show that they are part of the group and all for women's rights. As Sadie gets drawn into the group, desperate to fit in and start her life over again, she starts to question Alexa's motives and becomes more and more uncomfortable.

There is a lot going on in this book, and I loved it all. I loved Sadie, her plucky nature, her kindness and her constant striving to be a better friend but not always getting it right. She's a loveable, likeable girl and I wanted the best for her. A really great read.

Thank you to netgalley and text publishing for this arc!

First of all, I love the cover. It is just SO adorable. And I love love love the name Sadie Starr, suce it sound so fancy and fun.

Okay, on to the actual review. When Sadie moves from Sydney to Melbourne, she sees it as a chance to start over, as a new person, after rejecting her best friend Daniel’s advances and then kissing him and ruining everything between them.

But when she meets Alexa and her pink-badged gang, and learns what supposedly happened between Loz and Jack,she’ll have to figure out what she really wants, and what really matters, and who she really is.

This review is based on an ARC and therefore may not match the final version


Sadie Starr has a chance to start over. No more binge eating and dieting, better social situation, better grades-a fresh start . While leaving her best friend, Daniel, to move from Sydney to Melbourne, is hard, she is looking forward to the opportunities. And indeed, at her new, progressive school. she connects quickly with Alexa, who is popular, pretty, and focuses her clique on supporting girls, particularly against a male classmate who has been accused of stalking.. Except, as Sadie discovers, things aren’t as clear as they seem. The supposed victim doesn’t want said support, the “support group” seems more focused on social standing than on advocacy, and support starts to look like bullying. As Sadie begins to struggle more and more in this new world, old difficulties rears it’s head.

I struggled a bit with this book. While it is probably a good reflection of life, it felt like it never really decided on a focused problem. Was the problem that teens jump to conclusions? False accusations can ruin someone’s life? Cliques are bad? Eating disorders? Grief? Perfectionism and anxiety? They’re all here, and the result is that no one problem really feels either we’ll developed or resolved. It felt like three or four books in one, or perhaps a treatment for “Secret Life of The Australian Teenager”.

I think this book may appeal to teens who love reading about other people’s problems. And I think there is a lot of good material here. I am hoping to see more from this author in the future.

✧ L E T M E S U M M A R I S E ✧

A brilliant tale of self-discovery, learning to stand out from the crowd and stand up for what you believe in, Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over follows Sadie as she moves from Sydney to Melbourne and attempts to start her life fresh. But when she’s swept into a secret that she morally can’t keep, Sadie finds her new life isn’t as fantastic as it seems.

✧ W H A T W O R K E D W E L L ✧

I liked the characters in Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over. Although not without their flaws, they all felt pretty human. They surprised me. The characters weren’t predictable. Sadie wanted to fit in and tried really hard to do so. I could feel her sensitivity to criticism through the writing. Whenever a dig was made at her, it was as if I could feel how deep it wounded her. That doesn’t distract from the fact she was petty and a little bit childish – I don’t know any teenagers who still use the word ‘freak’ as an insult. Despite this, she was likeable. My favourite character was Loz. If her cool girl aura wasn’t enough, the fact that she wasn’t a bitch really made me like her. She really tried to be a friend to Sadie. My heart hurt for Jack and his situation throughout the entire story. I’ll even admit that I was incredibly surprised by Alexa – she did not turn out to be the character I was expecting her to be.

The book touches on the issue of body image, weight and eating disorders quite tastefully. I felt like the story touched upon the issue quite honestly, highlighting how pushy and demeaning parents and emotional stress can be a trigger for eating disorders. It was also great to see that despite Sadie’s weight gain throughout the novel, Daniel’s romantic interest in Sadie remained unchanged. A lot of the time, young girls are told that overweight girls have to lose weight to be desirable – but this is far from the truth.

The pace of the book was so quick. Though there is a heatwave and I have an incredibly crabby newborn, I was able to finish this book cover to cover within three hours tops. It was so easy to read and I sort of glided through each chapter. The story plot didn’t drag or feel unnecessary at any point.

✧ W H A T N E E D E D W O R K ✧

As previously mentioned, Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over has quite pushy parents. I didn’t like any of the parents in the story, perhaps except Daniel’s mother who seemed to be quite gentle and caring. What was frustrating however, was that we didn’t see any kind of conclusion or closure with any of the characters and their parents. We didn’t even really get some form of closure for Sadie.

✧ W H A T T H R E E W O R D S ✧

Enlightening, fluffy and simple.

✧ T O C O N C L U D E ✧

I’ve read a lot of tricky Young Adult fiction, but Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over is one of the easiest, simplistic books I have read. It was such a refreshing story of learning to accept yourself and discovering who you are. Though there was no real conflict resolution where it was necessary with the parents, I was pretty satisfied with how the plot unfolded and the way the book ended.

the issues discussed in the book is something I relate to, especially the disordered eating and the obsession with wanting to start over, but I am 75% sure I'm not as annoying as Sadie.

I feel like this book would have done better as a short film or better yet, a children's movie because a) there was way too much dialogue, and b) I found it difficult to envision these characters with the lack of descriptions. besides the many many pop culture references cram-jammed in every single line, I felt old when I found out I understood absolutely nothing.

I wish it was more, you know, hooking. but to say the least, I am probably light years past the target audience so I'm used to books that cover topics in depth so if you see me purchasing this book for all my little cousins, you did not.