Nobody's Girl [Paperback]

Being the grand old age of 24 I am a Sarra Manning fan from way back (I first read Diary of a Crush in J17 mag and still have the books that came as freebies with it!) and I can never resist anything that she's written. So I was very excited to read her latest teen offereing.
Always the best parts of Sarra's books are the main girl hero characters and Bea does not disapoint at all. She is a very identifiable character, how many of us at school were always longing to be part of the 'popular' croud and do what we wanted and not what our Mum's said we could? Well Bea gets to do that and realises (as we all secretly hoped) that it's not all it's cracked up to be, so she begins a big personal discovery that it's okay to be yourself and just sometimes you have to go on a big journey to discover that just being you is fine.
Another lesson from the story is that sometimes the truth is hard to take and it will change you and others in ways that you can never come back from, but it makes you a better person for it, sometimes.
Of course, along the way Bea meets one of Sarra's famous 'Toxic boys' and this one is a good one. He's not as toxic as some have been in the past - compared to some he is a saint! - he is full of suprises, good and bad, and of course along the way you will fall in love with him yourself.
The cherry on top of the Pain ou Chocolat in this book is the amazing description of Paris. I now want to visit this city more than anything and intend to use the book as my guide book as well as Bea and Toph's exploring rules!
All in all this book is another great coming of age story with a lot of romance and fun thrown in along the way - definatly recomeneded to all.
p.s. I love how Sarra manages to refrence little things from others books - it makes you feel at home nicely : )

I actually get lost everytime i read one of this authors books, theres a certain mystery in all of her stories i always think i know whats going to happen but then am completely surprised by what actually happens!

I agree with one of the previous reviews, the detail the author adds in describing Paris is so dedicated and amazing that it has inspired me to want to go to Paris! The characters and the general genre of her stories I find are always a hit and I have a glow of happiness after reading them! Truly captivating!

If you're a fan of any of her books you have to read this just to complete the set, i cannot wait to read her upcoming work and i am a 22 year old!

Hope this was helpful! Unsticky and Let's Get Lost are also books of perfection!

Warning: A slight spoiler. Just a little one.

Okay, so I've only discovered the works of Sarra Manning a couple of years ago, and OhmyGod, this woman can write! 'Nobody's Girl' was the first book I have pre-ordered since Harry Potter (and that's saying something) simply because when I heard Sarra Manning was releasing another book, I thought 'right...Amazon...' because I love her style and simply,Manning has not failed to write a book where I don't get hooked from the very first page. She knows exactly who her audience is and she writes perfectly and realistically, leaving you wanting more.

'Nobody's Girl' is a book about a young girl called Beau, who is going through the awkward motions of growing into a young woman. She's having to put up with her mothers incessant moaning, whilst feeling ordinary and boring, and longing to be in a different crowd. Until she gets invited to hang out with the school's popular team of girls lead by the 'it girl' Ruby (Y'know, a bit like the plastics from Mean Girls), aware that their underlying intentions could be the exact opposite of their big smiles and flattering 'Did anyone tell you that you look like Audrey Hepburn?' compliments. After a few weeks of parties and drinking, Beau is one of the gang and this seems finalised when they ask her to go with them to Malaga. After they get passed the hurdle of convincing Beau's mum, Beau is excited to have some holiday bliss without her mother watching over her like a hawk and being able to have a great time with her new, cool friends. When they eventually arrive at Malaga, everything goes downhill from the start. Until she gets saved by a group of Americans who are back packing around Europe, and she meets the lovely Toph ('rhymes with loaf'), who doesn't make her feel like the mundane Beau she thinks she is, but a cool, sophisticated young woman who can speak French as if it's her second language. On a whim, she decides to escape to Paris with her new friends, hoping she could meet her estrange, French father, but instead of it just being a straight-forward plan it soon turns out into a bumpy roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Yet again, Manning has produced a quirky heroine which projects most young girls fears and yearnings. I fell in love with all the characters (even the bitchy ones) they all perfectly slotted into the story and added different emotions, at some points I felt so enraged that I was shouting profanities at the book when our main heroine learns more about the unpleasant sides of teenage girls, and at other times I was thinking to myself 'uh, I know exactly where she's coming from...'. Another aspect which I liked about the book was the romance, at the start it was subtle and it doesn't really start to kick in until the last third of the book, where she spends her entire time with Manning's 'toxic boy' Toph, and by the time they got it together, I felt like a friend saying 'uh, finally!'.

The only thing that I wasn't keen on was the epilogue. It was a little too fairytale for my liking, although, we find out what happens to the other characters in the book but I felt it was just there for the sake of it. Plus, we had a clichéd ending, but Manning saved this from being too soppy by leaving out the huge Hollywood styled speeches and adding humorous touches.

'Nobody's Girl' is packed with 'Ooh la la's' and the will-they-won't-they tension. I found it hard to place the book down, and when I did finish the book, it left me wanting to go out and travel around Europe. A choice for somebody who wants to indulge into something light, mixed with a dose of Teen angst.