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BOOK REVIEW: Bad Habits by Flynn Meaney


What the back says... Alex is a rebel with a purple fauxhawk and biker boots.

St Mary's Catholic School is the strict boarding school where she's currently trapped.


Despite trying everything she can to get expelled, she's still stuck with the nuns, the prudish attitude and the sexism. So Alex decides to take matters into her own hands. She's going to stage the school's first ever production of The Vagina Monologues . . .


Trouble is, no one else at St Mary's can even bear to say the word 'vagina' out loud!


This book came at exactly the right time for me, suffering lockdown fatigue I needed something to lift my spirits and this did just that. This was a fantastic easy read that I couldn't put down - reading the whole thing in one evening. Bad Habits centres on Alex Heck, teenage rebel that attends St Mary's Catholic Boarding School. All Alex really wants is to be expelled and go back home to her Dad but, with her Dad being an ex-St Mary's pupil himself, he does what he can to make sure she stays so she can enjoy the experience like he did.


To make sure her plan for expulsion works, she enlists the help of her Feminist club to put on a production of The Vagina Monologues. How will she pull this off and what compromises will she have to make to make it happen.


There were a lot of things I liked about this book, our main character Alex, although she gives the impression she's more rebel than dedicated student, her self belief, self confidence and bold spirit make her really interesting. Whilst she not popular with a huge circle of friends, she is the one that the girls of her dormitory turn to for advice when it comes to sex, boys and themselves. Her room mate, Mary-Kate, is the opposite to Alex, but not in a bad way, she's almost naive to the ways of boys and relationships whilst mature in her thinking and the inner workings of the school. Between the two of them, they balance each other.


Whilst this isn't your typical story of self discovery, as Alex goes through with her plan she does realise that she doesn't actually know everything! Even as a feminist this hasn't stopped her judging some of the other girls and as she realises this you see the change in her thinking and new friendships are made. Mary-Kate learns that relationships come in all shapes and forms and some of the most significant can be right in front of you.


The wittiness and snarkiness in the book was very well written, the come-backs and arguments some of the main characters have are very cleverly done. This will be a great read for not only teenage readers but for all ages. Another great read from the Write Reads tours.


I received this as a mobile publication in return for an honest review as part of The Write Reads Blog Tour.


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