I’m sorry, but I found this book thoroughly disappointing. I was given the book as a gift because when I was little, I love the Ivy and Bean books. I was very excited to read it as I thought it would be a fun, young adult version of Ivy and Bean, but this was most definitely not the case. I should have been wary when I read a number of reviews before reading it that said it was extremely offensive to minority groups, making fun of the LGBTQ+ community, mentally ill people, POC and people who have suffered abuse. I went into reading it with an open mind. I am the first person to admit when something is offensive or inappropriate. Personally, I thought the “jokes” were insensitive, but what I found most upsetting was that Annie Barrows was mocking YA authors who include diversity in their books. Diversity should be celebrated, not frowned upon and ridiculed. Barrows really dug herself a hole because most of her audience is young adults who want to see themselves in the characters they read about. In creating these two very two-dimensional characters who make fun of the people who are just like the people reading the book, she’s offending her audience which is hard to recover from. Like I said, diversity should be celebrated, not ridiculed. Aside from that, it’s just poorly written. Quite frankly, the reason no one else has written a book about nothing is because it’s boring. Some parts were hard to read because they were just insensitive, boring and cringey. Having said that, there were parts that were funny, but i’m not sure if I just thought it was funny that these girls clearly think they’re so superior because they have absolutely nothing interesting happening in their lives!

I really wanted to like this book, but sadly I was disappointed and would not recommend it to anyone.

Wow. This was ummm terrible. Simplistic writing. Too much unnecessary swearing. Mental health used to identify people. But I laughed at parts so it gets an extra star for that.

Would not recommend.

In short this book was absolutely wonderful and amazing.

I could clearly see my own teenage years reflected in these pages, through both Charlotte and Frankie, as they spend a year writing down everything to show that nothing really does happen to them. In essence this is a coming of age novel, that precisely reflects the teenage experience. Charlotte and Frankie are like any 15 year old girl you would meet on the street or once were. Worrying about their friendships, boys and whether something interesting is going to happen to them, like the characters in their favourite books.

Annie Barrows creates, no reflects is a better word, a typical year in the life. It really is a quirky, laugh out loud funny and at times serious read, that explores relationships (between friends, siblings and parent/child) and just tells it like it is. "Nothing" also gives a message that everyone is normal, and even the most ordinary year can bring much unexpected growth and change. It feels as if it really was written by a couple of really articulate teenage girls, and will definitely appeal to fans of Becky Albertalli, Nicola Yoon, Adam Silvera and John Green.

This book is quirky, funny and just very REAL, it isn't sad and it won't make you cry tears of sadness. If you're after something you can knock over in an afternoon, and will brighten your day, please read this book.

This is really more a 3.5 star book. Not the best YA book I've read but it wasn't terrible either. I think it will appeal to those who are younger (14-16 age range) because it's so immature and millennial. I got annoyed by half the crap Charlotte and Frankie complained/talked about.

But at the same time, it's different from other realistic YA in that it doesn't feel fake or dramatic or cliche. It just is. It's what being a teenager feels like more often than not. As in: you feel like nothing is happening and nothing will ever happen to you. But then it does and it's so special.

DNF at 51%.
I told myself I would read this book at least 50% through to see if it would get better, it didn't. The entire premise of this book is a teenage girl writing about her high school life and the fact that nothing happens, and this is literally all the book is about. I kept waiting for something to happen, either for me to click with the narrator, or for an event to take place that would keep me intrigued, but neither of these happened.
I get what Barrows is trying to do here, YA books can sometimes be written around this premise and be engaging, cute and entertaining but I found the two girls in this book to be unlikeable, the way they speak made me roll my eyes more than once, and I did not care about their every day lives at all.
A friend and I were recently lamenting the fact that it is hard to find strong, female characters in YA books these days (think Looking for Alibrandi and Tomorrow When the War Began female characters) and this book certainly didn't provide.
- I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

NOTHING is actually a book that focuses on the lives of two high schoolers where nothing happens in their lives, maybe a little something happens but their life is rather bland. Here starts my problem with the book. By 40%, I had put down, picked up and put down the book numerous times because I could not engage with the lack of anything happening. Reading to the end involved skimming and forced motivation.

The book focuses on the friendship between Charlotte and Frankie, both equally bored by their own existence and wanting some excitement to appear. Their family lives were mildly interesting and their loyalty to one another was sweet. A major struggle was the narrative voice throughout the book as it was like listening to two 14 year olds prattle on about very little. The banter was painful, full of OTT swearing that didn't always seem to fit. I appreciate the talent in an author being able to write through the mind of YA characters but it was hugely irritating and this further disengaged me with the book. In my opinion a good YA narrates the story with a more focused voice, with less chaotic dialogue.

I'm sorry that I haven't got much more to say that has positivity. I would be willing to give this author a second try if she writes a more mature YA.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss in return for a honest review.

I found this book to be quite adorable and amusing. There were many times it reminded me of a little show about nothing.



Our lives are not as exciting as books or movies, but there are still a lot of small, meaningful moments we experience on a daily basis, and that is my take away from this rather charming and amusing tale.

I spent a lot of time with a smile on my face as I read this book. I have to attribute a great deal of that enjoyment to Barrows ability to capture the teenage voice so well. I worked in a high school for 12 years, and many of Frankie and Charlotte's musings reminded me of the conversations I heard each day. I am from the northeast and NOT a teen, so some of the slang was odd for me, but it by no means diminished my enjoyment or understanding.

"Nights of homework, days of school, weekends of hanging around wishing that something would happen."

The heart of this story is the relationship between Frankie and Charlotte, and I loved it. It was a long standing friendship, that was going through a period of change as both girls were experiencing some personal growth. They were trying to figure out who they were and who they wanted to be, and sometimes they put the other off or maybe kept a secret, but it was because they were still trying to understand what it meant to them.

"I don't want to be sheep. I want to have my own opinions."

Barrows gave our heroines two very nice and interesting families. Frankie's family was the most interesting, because of the circumstances surrounding her parent's coupling. She also had a colorful cast of step siblings, who were not too fond of her, but she had a opportunity to bond with one of her step-brothers, I was excited that she seized the opportunity and it resulted in some of my favorite moments in this book.

This was a fun look at the lives of teens, and totally brought me back to my own teen years, when I also believed nothing ever happened.

BLOG|INSTAGRAM|BLOGLOVIN| FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS

This book wasn’t tear jerking or heart melting and it won’t take me long to forget what happens in this book, but it’s a cute read. It’s a book about self discovery and growth, and it was nice. Not outstanding, but enjoyable.

Plot
If you've ever gotten annoyed by the flowery language, action-packed, romantic plots that fictional teens seem to fall into, and want to read about real teen girls with real teen problems where nothing exciting happens, then this book is for you! This book is called Nothing for a reason, and the two Sophomores who alternately narrate this book often remind the reader of this. They're best friends, and they think they're drifting apart. One's got a secret driving interest, and the other has a secret social media interest--once they bring their secrets together, they realize things might still work.

Review
I thought the inside flap was humorous, and was looking forward to reading this book, but it was soooo dull and annoying for the first several chapters while the girls discuss the nothingness that is their lives. I didn't even realize until page 80 of the audiobook that the perspective was shifting from Charlotte to 3rd person--however, in the physical book it is made clear because the chapters called Nothing are the ones that Charlotte writes, and the titled chapters are the ones that are about Frankie.

Sidenote: Lots of swearing and the girls get high.

Appropriate for 9th+
WASHYARG Sept 2017