I no longer have an interest in reviewing this title but would like to thank the publisher and author for the opportunity, it is now far past the publication and archive date. I have awarded 3 stars to keep this review neutral.

Alex Heck, a rebel of St. Mary’s Catholic Boarding school has been trying her best to get expelled. But why you ask? She is fed up of the misogyny, patriarchal rules, gender biasness & most importantly the lack of freedom.

St. Mary’s is a place where you can’t say the F-word & even girls don’t feel comfortable saying “Vagina” although it is a part of their anatomy. As her last attempt at getting expelled she decides to put up a feminist show “The Vagina Monologues”. Alex runs a feminist club with a handful of girls & one boy – they would be putting up the show. But is it going to be sanctioned by the authorities? Will Alex be able to change anything in St. Mary’s in her journey of putting up the show or even through the show?

This book is a badass feminist book that’s going to tickle you at the right places. Through Alex’s journey, the author has spoken about various aspects of feminism – body positivity, gender equality, interference of patriarchy in feminism. A place where a part of the female anatomy is not even uttered you can hardly expect any sex education. It’s shown by how girls got themselves into trouble cause of lack of knowledge.

Most importantly, it highlights the fact that every feminist is a feminist & you aren’t one just because you rebel & on the other hand you can’t respect the choice of your fellow females. It’s not always by rage that you can be heard, sometimes it requires politeness & just the right words. As the dedication goes “For all the loud feminists with purple hair … and the quiet feminists with killer French braids.

The cover is vibrant & eye catchy & a true glimpse of Alex!

This book was so funny, i absolutely loved reading this.
Really bold and daring in a setting that is prudish and rule followers.
This book shows you to have a voice no matter what you believe and be true to yourself.

Bad Habits is a fun, entertaining, quirky story about feminism and rebellion. The protagonist Alex is a self-proclaimed feminist trying desperately to get expelled from her strict and traditional catholic school. Tired of the casual sexism prevalent in the school and with expulsion as her goal, Alex hatches a plan to perform the Vagina Monologues. What follows is a hilarious but impactful story of a group of girls with varying personalities coming together in Alex's quest.

While Alex seems like a simplistic and mostly annoying character in the beginning, it is interesting to see her growth over the course of the story. For someone who claims to a feminist, Alex is quite narrow-minded and has very specific views on what a feminist woman should believe in. She confuses feminism with rebellion and looks down upon on Katie, who believes in saving herself for marriage. The clash of opinion between these two provides a very important perspective on how feminism is about freedom of choice and respecting and supporting other women even when their opinions might be different from yours.

Overall, it is a fun read that addresses the issue of feminism in a light-hearted and realistic manner.

This book though started out okay dealt with some important issues in a great manner and I loved to see important issues being discussed. I also adored how well the character development was framed.
Overall this was a nice book to read and an important one too
Content Warning for mentioned of HP throughout, I can remember at least 3 HP references in the story and they made me cringe and turn away from the story and reduce the rating I gave it

Bad Habits is such a light-funny-witty read that will make you laugh nonstop.

It starts right off with our main character Alex dangling from a boy’s windowsill… Doesn’t that sound interesting?!… Anyway, Alex (a feminist through and through) wants to get expelled as fast as possible from her strict Catholic boarding school (St Mary’s), she’s tried everything she could think of but none of them worked. Yet, she isn’t giving up hope and will try one more time with a brilliant new idea; staging The Vagina Monologues… at St Mary’s…where no one can even bear to hear the word “vagina”…

I really liked how different the characters are, like Alex is this super rebellious feminist who always goes against the rules whilst her best friend Mary Kate is this hard working A+ student who has big goals for her future. They “blend” together very well throughout the story and they make some really inspiring best friends goals. There are also other characters who you shall meet while reading that I just like…I’m talking about Pat 🙂

The writing style was brilliant, the whole book was very funny and sarcastic ….. I really enjoyed it and I hope you’ll do too!

I  don’t know how to properly word my thoughts here. I really enjoyed it, this one isn’t going to be for everyone though. Harry Potter references are scattered throughout and I know this will be an issue for a lot of people, which is why I’m mentioning it here.

As someone who isn’t religious and went to a religious school I can relate to it to some degree, though mine was nowhere near as strict. Alex is a loud and proud feminist who decides to put on a play of The Vagina Monologues in another bid to get expelled from St Mary’s Catholic boarding School. I liked the concept, Alex’s determination to stand up for what she believes in and laughed

out loud in places. At times Alex can be narrow minded and unlikable, I don’t think this is a bad thing, I quite like the unlikeable characters in books, and liked Alex. Bad Habits is different to what I normally read, I’m so glad I gave it a chance though, I’ll definitely be giving Flynn Meaney’s other books a read. I definitely recommend giving it a read!

It's a book about a purple-haired, rebellious girl trying to start a feminist revolution in her catholic school and finding new allies along the way. The main character, Alex, is so snarky and funny she has to be likable. Even if she sometimes overinterprets the issues she's faced with, her main goal remains admirable. The other main character is Mary Kate, Alex's roommate and fellow member of the feminist club. My only issue with the characters is how boy-obsessed they are, to the extent that Mary Kate's main goal at the beginning of the novel is to get a boyfriend, but she doesn't care that much who it would be. Are boys just pieces of meat to you, MK? For a contemporary ya book about feminism, it does focus a lot on straight romance. I would argue that sometimes it feels like there is more romancing in it than working towards the feminist revolution.

I know I know, it's on me, because I chose to read a ya book, but it did seem a bit childish with how black-and-white some issues were presented and how Alex reacted to some things. I've read more mature teen books dealing with feminism, Nowhere Girls among them, that managed to convey similar messages and appeal to younger readers without being too simplistic and instead leaning towards darker, more serious topics. Teenagers are not babies, they can handle complicated issues.

On a similar note, the characters don't seem to go to classes on page that often, but there is an awful lot of school events happening all the time, very much like in a teen movie.

Despite all that, I really enjoyed reading this book, mainly because it's funny—the dialogues and the at times borderline unrealistic plot. All in all, it's a fun little book you read purely for entertainment. It's hilarious, not too deep, although it deals with interesting issues.

Hugely enjoyable! A great read, I loved it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my feedback.

One will either go "bah!", or get hooked on to it from the get go. Bad Habits is a book about Alex, and her life at St. Mary's, a Catholic boarding school. The major portion of the book is all about teenagers and them finding their footing, making their space… basically, becoming their future selves. It makes for an interesting read. Not some philosophical coming of age, jargon filled book this. Bad Habits is a more hilarious version of it. With its protagonist literally having a "lightbulb" moment in the midst of a crisis to realise what she actually wants!

I absolutely loved reading Bad Habits

This book is a hilarious easy read YA, with a feminist undercurrent and an important message. This book had me in absolute stitches and I would have loved it when I was a young teen at an all-girls school. There were some really sound points to drive home too, which I loved!

To start with I thought Alex was a bit of a pretentious knob with a feminist streak, but as the story and her character developed I came to understand her, and therefore like her, a lot more. As well as understanding her better, her intentions changed, which made her more likable and the story more believable. It went from being an angry vendetta against a strict and patriarchal school system to a well-intentioned feminist message to help people better understand the female experience. We all could learn a little from Alex “Personally, I think this whole idea that people should stick to archaic, stereotypical gender roles is bullshit“. I liked the way that the story flowed with the reasoning for the plot changing and progressing in a natural manner with the character’s development, but I did feel it was a little lackluster and there were some aspects where I was like ‘Seriously?!’. I will say that I gave the writing style a three-star as I found some phrases were used repeatedly which eventually ended up winding me up a little, but that is a matter of personal preference.

There were some incredibly well-written, teen feminist perspectives on heteronormative life that were both frank and funny and had me howling and reading sections aloud to my partner. Some of these gems including “Nothing explains my feminist rage more than the fact that my very earliest origins were in these privileged white balls. Of course, my molecular rebel self shot out of there like a bat out of Polo Ralph Lauren hell, but still…“, “Yes, I could have confronted them about their childishness and sexism, but I probably would have gotten a fart noise in return, so what was the point? Trying to educate a neanderthal-brained hockey jock is like trying to get a guinea pig to play the xylophone.” and “When you make ignorant jokes about a woman’s body, you just prove to everyone around that you’ve never touched one” (This last one is going to become my answer to any ignorant jokes about the female body going forward – Thanks Flynn Meaney).

This book tackles some really important topics for young people to understand, especially when they are developing, including two very important conversational points:
– Women’s bodies and how they are stigmatised
– Periods and how unnecessarily ‘taboo’ they are in the public eye.
I was lucky enough that going to an all-girls secondary school meant that I, never saw periods and the related necessary products as shameful, because in a class of all girls aged 11-18 it was a frequent topic of conversation and there was no shame in asking the class openly “Does anyone have a spare tampon/pad?”. I did realise very quickly when I got into the working world, that there is a problematic secretive nature that is applied to periods in the public eye, and overcoming that is more than just a female problem but a male problem too. We all know it happens, so why do 50% of the world’s population feel ashamed about it happening whilst the over 50% use it as the butt of their jokes and generalisations. I think this book could be really useful for boys and girls alike, to get a better understanding of the female experience, especially when growing up.

This book is an easy read which is funny and will have you laughing out loud. I would recommend it to anyone that is a fan of YA books with a feminist message. To all young girls AND boys (secondary school age), this book is for you and will help you tackle the patriarchy whilst understanding more about feminism, the expectations and restrictions society puts on young women, and the problematic systems that make women feel inferior on the simple basis of their sex.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC of Bad Habits, in exchange for an honest review!

Alex hates the Catholic boarding school her parents make her attend, and every single person there. So, what to do? The only way to end her misery is for her to get expelled! Not so easy when your father was basically best friends with the headmaster… And so, Alex has to find another way out…

Bad Habits starts off with Alex dangling from a window. No, not an attempt to end her days at the strict school this way – she just has to leave the boys’ dorm before she gets caught! The first pages with Alex, I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy that much. Her voice seemed too cool, too hard, too vulgar at times – as if she was trying too hard to be the tough, cool feminist, and too hard to stand out from the crowd. But then, when I got to know her better – her thoughts, her feelings, what makes her tick – Alex began to grow on me!

I’m not going to lie, but insults and ‘naughty words’ (lol) aren’t part of my everyday vocabulary either, so her frequent use of them put me off for a big part of the book. But as I mentioned above, once I got to know Alex better and could understand her train of thought, I knew why she was the way she was. She just is headstrong, vocal (extremely so!), determined, and just overall a very strong character, and she makes heads turn! However, she is also quite…how to say… narrow-minded at times when it comes to certain things – especially her idea of feminism, freedom, and equality. She just sees her very own, limited kind of reality, and that is the universal truth. Saying she is a flawed character therefore is almost an understatement, but that makes her all the more real. And just like that, we have one very interesting and ‘to-root-for’ main character whose journey we want to be a part of.

I liked how the plot had a simple goal from the beginning: to get Alex out of there – and followed that like a small current until the end. Obviously I won’t reveal what happens in the end, but sometimes I wished for a bit more action plot-wise. However, Alex happened to be so much of a whirlwind that her views, thoughts, and especially words filled the action-department all of their own!

Something I really loved was the pop culture references here and there, it just makes a book so much more ‘real’ when you know the books and movies and songs the characters are talking about! I also loved Alex’s roommate Mary Kate – who is pretty much the exact opposite of her, which underlined the comedy elements in this book even more!

While Alex is trying to get expelled by pushing the school to agree to her production of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ (in a school where no one even dares to say the V word!), it was funny and interesting at the same time to see how many different views on what feminism actually is there are. While Alex sees her own version of it as the only real feminism – the sexual liberty and outward rebellious attitude coming complete with the punky short hair and even shorter skirt, the ‘nothing is a taboo’ kind of verbal approach and the rebellion against everyone and everything – it becomes clearer and clearer through the course of the book how harmful this kind of black and white, all or nothing thinking actually is for the other girls and women in her periphery.

There are characters believing in and portraying pretty much the exact opposite of what Alex does and shows – who believe that saving sex for after marriage, not openly showing every body part etc. is their very own kind of choice and way to take agency of their own body – a different, and yet just as strong kind of feminism. I loved the clash between these very contrasting worldviews, and the funny and often also underlying emotional scenes that came with them. Ultimately, it is all about choice – and how this deep topic has been intervowen with this funny plot and great range of characters was really exceptional.

Summing up I have to say that the way feminism was addressed here was really very special and made the topic approachable for younger readers as well (not too young though, mind you!). The plot that promised to serve only as a way to get Alex expelled from school opened up a discourse about some very deep, very important topics, but managed to do so in a fresh and new way. I like that we have a main character that is quite flawed in her beliefs and head-strongness, but then again that is what serves to open up the discourse and helps to make you think. In the end, Alex tries to help other girls, not just herself, to be a free woman in a world that claims to have equality for men and women, but in reality might still be far away from that. It was nice to watch Alex change over the course of the book – slowly, yet gradually. In the end, she wasn’t a changed person. But the spark was there, and sometimes that is all there needs to be.

With its wide range of somplex characters, the fun school setting, the important underlying messages, and the humour, Bad Habits is the perfect contemporary YA read for every 21st century girl. You need this on your shelf!

4 stars from me, and I can’t wait to see what other books Flynn Meaney will write!

I thoroughly enjoyed Bad Habits and especially chaotic protagonist Alex Heck, who we first encounter hanging out of the dorm window of a boy she's just finished hooking up with at their co-ed Catholic boarding school. It's a funny, fast read and I particularly liked that the focus of the book was on Alex's friendships and feminist development, not on romance. A solid 4 star read: recommended for fans of Holly Bourne or Moxie.

This book is funny, edgy and touching.

Alex is trying to get her father's attention and get kicked out of St. Mary's. When we first meet her, in the first chapter, she is hanging from an upstairs window in the boys' dorm. But, when that doesn't get her kicked out, she knows she has to up the ante.

Bring on the Vagina Monologues. In the process of trying to get herself booted from school, she's finding reasons she might want to stay.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, just amazing! A story about feminism in a Catholic school, I don’t think I’ve read this before at all. I loved the personal growth the main character goes through, the fact it’s her friends who teach her and make her change . It’s so much fun, full of humour , but still reminds the reader of important messages too.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I was definitely drawn to the synopsis of this one, and while this story had some really great parts, I felt that it was just sort of average overall. I appreciated the humor and the fight against the binary when it comes to feminism. Alex was definitely a fun character, and I really enjoyed Alex's friend group. I had issues with some of the pacing especially when the story slowed down to really delve into the everyday details. Overall, I still think that this is an important story for young people.

In the principal’s office for the umpteenth time, Alex fails to get herself expelled. Fed up with nosy nuns and a culture of sexism, Alex and her purple fauxhawk make a last-ditch attempt to be sent home: she’s staging The Vagina Monologues. Her roommate, despite being preoccupied by her semester goal of getting a boyfriend, agrees to help even though she can’t bring herself to utter the word vagina. With the force of a steam engine, Alex ploughs forward, learning a lot about the true nature of friendship, negotiations and feminism.
This is surely a book that you will want to relish. The jokes are hilarious – a mixture of one-liners, keen observations and hysterical set pieces. I was laughing out loud, much to the dismay of the library users where I was reading. I think I even snorted, how Alex that was!
The great thing about the book (besides the good-natured humour) is that it shows Alex really growing as a person. And she’s flawed, too. Her bad habits are on show, yet she is caring and considerate of others. All the trials she endures to get The work of Eve Ensler on the stage show the best that feminism has to offer: collaboration, negotiation and representation of the underserved.
Flynn Meaney has done well with her cast of characters. If she does introduce a stereotype, she fairly quickly turns it round so the reader learns a lesson in making assumptions. The action flies along, there are cute in-jokes amid the serious issues. She has created the perfect anti-hero and the ultimate feel-good teen read. It’s a large air punch for the sisterhood as well.
If you liked Prom, You should see me in a crown or anything by Holly Bourne, you will love this.

YA readers such as myself have already learned to anticipate bildungsroman in novels. That is what we are here for, the ultimate twist, the big character development. Alex, being the picaro narrator of Bad Habits provides just that. As a character, despite being hilarious at times, she may not be my cup of tea. I certainly wasn’t rooting for her and it was difficult and tiresome to empathize with her objectives. However, reading between the lines, deciphering what she wants to say as opposed to how she delivers, I find that the novel has a good foundation. The presence of the other characters like the charismatic Pat, the cool-headed Katie Casey and the multi-faceted Mary Kate has made the entire novel entertaining and Alex’s epiphany worth the wait.

My only regret with this book is that I didn't pick it up sooner!!

One of my favourite films that just screams comfort to me is WILD CHILD and this books had all the vibes of that film. Perfect for fans of Moxie! This will be in my March Wrap Up Video!

Alex is a rebel and an outright one. Her idea of being a boarder isn’t something in sync with her school. She has her ways and her school has their ways. But nothing matches and it’s not going well for her. But, of course, she has to churn out a new plan.

Will Alex manage getting expelled from school?
Does boarding school really tick her off?
Does she have a new plan?
How does it all come together?

Rating – 5/5 Stars
Recommendation – Very High

Conclusion,

I loved this book right from the start. The character of Alex kept me hooked right from the beginning. There was not a dull moment in this brilliant book and I have laughed my heart out right from the start. Fabulous pace, this read was a great page turner.