Once again, Holly Bourne proves just how wonderful and realistic she can be. The final book in the Spinster Club trilogy, this book follows Lottie, the final girl in the trio, who is trying her very best to not only get into one of the most prestigious universities in the world, but also to spread the word of feminism. But finding the balance between perfect student/daughter, and doing what you think is best, is not quite as easy as Lottie thinks.
Lottie is a strong, independent character, loved by her teachers, pushed by her parents, and loyal to her friends. Her story starts with a terrifying example of sexism, which gets the ball rolling for the entire plot. On her way to college, Lottie is 'cornered' by two men sat in a van, cat calling her, and whilst this action scares Lottie, she feels like she just can't let it slide. And so the Vagilante project is born. For one month, Lottie will call out any and all sexism she sees, much to the disappointment of her parents.
If you are unfamiliar with the Spinster Club series, you are really missing out. Starting with "Am I Normal Yet?" the trilogy focuses on 3 girls who become friends at college, and each of their struggles over the course of their A Levels. "Am I Normal Yet?" was the first book I read by Holly, and I absolutely adored it, and since then I have been hooked by her writing, but especially by this series. Holly is very realistic with her writing. She doesn't sugarcoat the BS, she says it how it is. The story is never as simple as 'girl meets boy', her characters are flawed and 3 dimensional and each of the girls has their own problems to deal with. Evie has OCD, Amber's mother left her to move to the USA, and Lottie struggles with her internal conflict to do what she thinks is right, or to do as her parents want her to do.
The topics of Bourne's books are incredibly difficult and she manages to tackle them extremely well. For this particular book, she both combats the problems of feminism and sexism in the modern day world, as well as combining this with trying to do what is expected of you, and the onset of depression.
Because Lottie's parents expect her to attend Cambridge, and think her FemSoc activities are a waste of her time when she could be studying a fifth A Level, Lottie feels even more driven to prove her point, and in doing so her mental health suffers. When her project suddenly attracts nationwide attention, Lottie really starts to struggle with her decision, and instead of relying on her friends, she feels like she can't talk to anyone about it and must face everything by herself. And it's very relatable.
Over the course of the series, Lottie has been one of the most elusive characters out of the group. Evie and Amber's stories both proceed hers and in both of those stories, Lottie has been in the background, so going into this book, you really didn't know what to expect. What you get is a very self-driven person who stands up for everyone, even if the way in which she does so is a little unorthodox, and honestly, you end up loving Lottie a little bit. She constantly wants to do what she thinks is right, and the internal struggle you get to see really makes her feel like she's alive. Add to that the simple things, like her stating what she's thinking internal before literally saying it, and it could almost be you right there in her place.
Now, I don't consider myself a very active feminist, I don't vocalize a lot of my opinions because I find that when you do, you often get shot down. And I am very opinionated (Try being a female in the world of science, particularly chemistry, it sure isn't easy). But this book brought out the feminist in me. I found myself questioning little things, like 'why does this list of chemists posted on the university wall only have one woman in it?' and 'why do I only ever see that particular news anchor with a woman half his age?' Because this book really does point out the little things. And when Lottie's project blows up, and she goes into isolation, I really did feel for her. I've been there, not too long ago, and it is very difficult, and Holly really managed to capture that feeling of being alone.
With a fluid, realistic writing style, Holly could write absolutely anything and I would pick it up. She just has a way of captivating the reader and making them believe every single word she says. She can make you laugh, cry, fight for what you believe in. I'm almost 100% sure that she's made me experience every single emotion throughout the course of this series alone, and I still haven't read the follow up "And a Happy New Year...?". Her characters are relatable, her writing is pure magic and she's such a lovely person.
Of course, that is not to say that this book didn't have it's flaws. Of course it did. But those flaws just made it more realistic. Lottie is far from your perfect student/daughter/friend. She dropped out of private school because she didn't like it, is trying to get into Cambridge because her dad wants her to, not necessarily because she wants to, and she questions this throughout the book, finally deciding in her interview that they can either have her as she is, no pretenses, or they can lose her, and ultimately discovers that just because she would do it one way, does not mean the entire planet would do it the same way. Sometimes you just have to be patient and let people come to you. And the same thing can be said with other characters in this book. They are all flawed, and they all make mistakes, and sometimes you yell "WHY THE F*** DID YOU DO THAT?!" at the book (a wonderful thing for other people to observe I am sure), but that just adds to the charm.
I really wish I had read this when I was a teenager going through school. I wasn't made aware of things like feminism, I didn't understand the mental health problems outside the realm of depression, and I certainly didn't have friends like Lottie, Amber and Evie, and okay, you might not gain actual friends from reading this series (although if you've read these, I would love to know your opinion!) but it felt like they were real people. Holly is a wonderful author, and I can't wait to delve into her many other wonderful novels, but I will severely miss this particular trio.
And seriously, go pick this up! Go pick all of them up and binge read to your hearts content! You seriously won't regret it :)
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See full series- Kindle Price:£8.97By clicking on the above button, you agree to Amazon's Kindle Store Terms of UseSold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
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There are 3 books in this series.
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By clicking on the above button, you agree to Amazon's Kindle Store Terms of UseSold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2017
