The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven - Review

I've read a couple of books by Laura Steven before and generally liked them, as she was writing contemporary YA, which I love. Then at Northern YA Lit Fest a couple of years ago she was talking about this book, where she's pivoted a bit because this is a fantasy novel although deeply rooted in realism. I liked the sound of it so I bought it that day and got it signed by Laura. I've been meaning to pick it up for ages but then it got buried underneath a load of other stuff, so it's taken me a while. But I'm so glad I finally got to it! It was a good start to Pride month, too!

So, the book is set in Northumberland in the United Kingdom. There's a university called Carvell, which has a long and dark history. It used to be a convent, and a nun called Sister Maria took her own life in the late 1800s; she was later made into a saint and a statue of her oversees the college, with a necklace of rubies around her neck. Then, ten years prior to the setting of the book, four people died in mysterious circumstances. One of them, Janie, was known to one of the protagonists of this book, Lottie. She has been obsessed with the case of the four murders ever since. Part of her wanting to go to Carvell is because of these murders, which her dad isn't happy about. 

She is from Kent and she is close to her parents. She plays hockey for the county and wants to do the same at Carvell. She's studying English Lit and is very interested in the gothic. She is a jock, and very sunny and happy - she rarely gets angry or similar. She meets her roommate - yes totally tropey, they share a room - Alice and originally the two of them don't get on.

Alice is a proper goth, she is studying philosophy and is quite pretentious. She has two brothers and her parents. Her mum is unwell. Alice is from Northumberland and she has a lot of anger. Anger at how women are treated differently by the world, anger at how she's been treated, anger just at the world in general. She finds a book in the library which details a ritual she could do to make herself calm. She prepares a tincture and takes it one night in the library. And then her soul splits in two. 

Meanwhile, Lottie is obsessed with getting inside the North Tower, where all the deaths happened. The Dean, Vanessa Mordue, catches her one night and makes it clear she needs to back off. Lottie starts to sleepwalk, though, uncertain about what is happening or where she's been. And then she wakes up with a ruby embedded in her neck. 

The two girls absolutely do not get on and hate that they have to share a room. They're really different, and Alice doesn't endear herself to Lottie right at the beginning of the book. They barely getting along, but Alice desperately needs help to stop her harming herself or anyone else. Lottie wants to make friends and get on the hockey team, but the ruby is stopping her doing that... And there's also something between them, definitely. 

I really liked the setting of the book - it's eerie and gothic and I could picture it so well. I really liked both Alice and Lottie and wanted them to get together and sort it all out. I thought a few of the side characters could have done with a little bit more fleshing out, and I thought it did drag in the middle for a bit. I liked the mystery and the overarching message, and think this is a good message for young women to learn. In all I'm giving this four out of five. 

The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it at the Northern YA Lit Festival in March, and got it signed by Laura who was there introducing a panel. 

What's it about? Izzy O'Neill is eighteen and in her final year of school. She's an aspiring scriptwriter who can't afford to go to college as she's being brought up by her grandmother after the death of her parents. She has two best friends, Ajita and Danny. Danny is starting to act weird around her, and it becomes clear that he has a crush on Izzy, but she definitely doesn't feel the same way.

Then Izzy goes to a party, where she gets talking to Vaughan, the son of a senator, and has sex with him on a garden bench. She goes inside and gets talking to dishy basketballer Carson, and she has sex with him too. She chats to Vaughan after the party and he sends her a dick pic. She sends him back a nude. 

Then a website appears, calling Izzy a World Class Whore. The details of her sexual encounters are given explicitly, and her phone has been hacked and the nude photos have been stolen. All of a sudden, she's a pariah at school, whispered about in the corridors and abandoned by her friends. Then the story goes global and everything goes from bad to worse.

The book is, in the main, extremely positive. There's lots of good messages given, like the fact that Izzy shouldn't feel ashamed for having sex or for sending a nude picture, and to do with Danny complaining about being "friend zoned" (as she's totally within her rights to not feel the same way about him as he feels about her). Izzy is funny and fiesty, and very irreverent. I think for a teenager, this would be a good book with overt feminist overtones; I like the messages that were given out, mostly. 

I didn't understand why the book was set in the US. Laura is British and a lot of the phrasing seemed more British English than American. The only reason I can think of is that so-called "revenge porn" (sharing of someone else's intimate photos) is now illegal in this country, but it isn't in most of the US. I get that setting it in the UK would have meant the story would have to change, because it would have had police involvement, but I found it quite jarring to have everything feel British but for it to be set in the States. 

What age range is it for? 16+

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, it's a subplot, one which I quite liked. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Ajita is Hindu and Carson is black. I felt like the Hindu family was portrayed in somewhat of a bad light and I didn't particularly like it.

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, obviously. It's quite explicit but as I said, very sex positive. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? I don't think so? Only alcohol. 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, and it is somewhat explicit. 

Are there swear words? Yes, lots

What criticisms do I have? I found the setting a bit jarring, as above. I also thought that a couple of times Izzy's jokes were really off colour and I didn't like that. I get that she was really irreverent and jokey and that she did that to mask the trauma that she'd been through, but I felt it went a little too far. I do think that for a teenager it is a great introduction to sex positivity, body positivity, the myth of the Nice Guy, and basically how to be a kickass teenaged girl, so I'm trying to review this book from that point of view rather than from my own, older, perspective. I like Laura as a person and I know I'll follow her career, but I didn't love this book as much as I hoped to. 

I also wish that Izzy had told her grandma what was happening much earlier than she did. I understand the reasons given why she didn't, that she didn't want to worry her grandma who is in somewhat ill health and working all hours to keep a roof over their heads, but I really wish she had asked for an adult's help. I also thought the school behaved abysmally and didn't protect Izzy the way I wished!

Would I recommend the book? Yes, if you are a teenager. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I was just idling my shelves as usual!

What other books is it like? Izzy reminded me of Billie in Dress Codes for Small Towns as she had the same feeling of being watched and judged. I think Billie and Izzy could be friends for sure!

How many stars? Three out of five. For myself, I didn't love it, but I think a lot of teenagers would. I'd definitely read something else by Laura though. 

Where is the book going now? I'll keep it - it's signed to me after all!