This was much more than a story of teenage angst and fitting in. It was a really good character study and a call to look inside yourself to see if you can know yourself better. It’s a call to acceptance of you and others, seeing them as they are and then not changing yourself to suit them. Very clever book

This book was amazing! I felt very called out as a lot of this book was exactly me and what I’ve been struggling to do. I loved Anna as a character and was rooting for her to grow as a character and learn to say no. The story felt natural and authentic and I flew through the book so quickly. I did forget Anna is 17 as to me she felt like she was written younger but this didn’t stop me enjoying it. This is a really quick and easy read about friendship, standing up for yourself, genuine self care and being able to say no - and importantly - the differentiation between nice and kind. I wish I’d had this book when I was younger but feel even now it’s comforted me.

"Sometimes it feel likes I'm running so fast and nobody ever stops me to see if I need a rest or a drink or if I even wanted to start running in the first place." - Sophie Jo, The Nicest Girl.

This story follows the main character, Anna, and her journey through the realisation that she's "too nice" and often treated like a doormat by people around her. Anna has just 3 close friends that she's known her entire school life, and when she's allocated the job of looking after new starter Ryan, she starts to question whether she agrees to the task for all the wrong reasons. Constantly overshadowed by the "fun one" within the group, Marla, Anna questions herself more and more whether she allows herself to fall too much into the background.

I loved this story! The perfect young adult tale and I only wished I had this to read when I was 16 years old. Incredibly relatable from the first page. I feel for Anna as I am her in so many ways, but I also want to shake her and say "snap out of it!" Maybe I really did need this book in my life!
I think we've all had a friend like Marla at some point in our lives. One that maybe makes us feel a little smaller than we deserve to be, that outshines us and dulls our light. But this story really raises the question as to whether we need to believe in ourselves that bit more so we can shine in our own way.
I really enjoyed all of the main characters we got to see in this story, particularly Aleks. Through all of them, we got to a experience a perfect mixture of funny, heartbreaking and equally heartwarming moments.
The only thing I wished for was Anna's change in attitude to come sooner and perhaps to be a little more dramatic. I was willing her on and shouting "come on, girl!" from the first chapter so I would have loved for her to raise hell a little.

Wow! What a book, its a book which I would have found so valuable at 16, 17 & 18. Learning how to become assertive while maintaining who you want to be.
There were times when I just wanted to shout at Anna "what are you thinking?!" (E.g. poor Grandad), but she got herself there in the end.
Marla, Maria, Maria - she's a character... and so familiar, having experienced a best friend of this type, demanding, expecting 100% of your focus, it's draining and its no wonder Anna spirals in the way she does.
And Ben <3

This book is perfect for Teens, navigating the path of finding the person they want to be, and if Anna's experience doesn't resonate with you, maybe check and see if you're a Marla and give your poor bestie a break 😆

This book follows Anna Campbell, who feels like she can never say no to anyone. We follow Anna as she tries to be 'less nice'.

This book was a book that I would have really loved to read when I was younger because I too sometimes felt it was impossible to say no to people, especially friends. It's a common mishap in young peoples lives where they suddenly become the go to friend but those friends are never there when you need someone to go to.

It was a well written story and i hope this helps young girls realise you don't have to be the most likeable person especially if it is messing with your own self.

I rated this 3 stars!

I started off thinking this was a very predictable young adult story. I quickly changed my mind and enjoyed the whole story. The characters were likeable and their flaws very believable. Anna was certainly frustrating at times but you could easily understand her decision making as a character. The Ryan storyline was very believable and I liked that there wasn’t really a resolution to it, it seemed very true to life.

I really did love this book!
Anna is very much relatable to me and I'm sure many others as well. I'm so glad there will be teens able to read a story like this because I could have done with it growing up since it teaches such an important lesson about self-love and setting boundaries.
If you're looking for a story with a good plot and likable characters then you should really give The Nicest Girl a go!

This book was so relatable and god I wish it was around to read when I was 17! Like others I saw part of myself in people pleasing Anna who just can't say no to people. Sometimes the frustration of Anna always saying yes to Marla really annoyed me (justice for Grandad) but overall this was thoroughly enjoyable and taught an important lesson on self-care and the power of saying no.

I’ll start off by saying, I love it! I really enjoyed this book.
The storyline is such a well written one with a strong clear message.
The characters have such individual personalities that leap off of the page. You can’t help but be carried away with it.
Perfect for young adults and adults alike, I’d highly recommend this to everyone, I’m just sorry there was nothing like this around when I was at secondary school.
5 out of 5 🌟
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my arc.

The Nicest Girl: a truly enjoyable read that would compliment the shelves of any secondary school’s library.

I love book dedications and the one that features in The Nicest Girl is no exception. Reading ‘For anyone who's ever had trouble saying no’, it certainly hit a nerve for me. To explain why, I’ll just say it made me even more certain of something I’d already guessed from the book’s title and description: that I personally would identify with the main character and feel very attached to the plot and message.

The main character, Anna, has a clear flaw: she is a people pleaser who struggles with the fear of letting people down. As her best friend Marla tells her, she is ‘too nice’. I think this trait of hers is one that any 21st century woman can relate to, particularly in a society that teaches women and young girls to never prioritise themselves. Also, it’s pretty clear from the get-go what her journey will be: growing from a self-proclaimed ‘doormat’ to someone who knows how to put herself, and her needs, first.

With that being said, the story never felt predictable or one-dimensional. In fact, there were lots of other plots interwoven with this central theme. There’s Anna’s past, for example, which involves an absent mother, as well as Marla’s relationship troubles and Anna’s own boy issues. These combined make for an interesting read, since there are just the right amount of storylines to keep the book engaging without feeling overwhelming. (They're all also tied up fabulously at the end, particularly the one involving her mum - who she learns she had more in common with than she'd ever thought.)

I would recommend this book to any teenager (or adult) who has found saying no to be difficult, specifically because they worry about letting others down. This is because, as well as being an entertaining read, its story provides guidance for how a person can set boundaries and learn to say no when they need to. As well as this, the actual writing itself is lovely to read. Chock-full of vivid descriptions (notably someone gripping another’s pinky finger ‘like a kite’) and well-fitting cultural references (I was very happy to see Taylor Swift’s name make an appearance), it is fluent and engaging.

Thank you Sophie Jo for telling Anna's story.

I really liked what I could read of this book but the download didn’t included the additional texts, writing etc which made the story hard to follow. This was a shame as I found the main character of Anna interesting and I was keen to see where her story would go. I will buy this when it is published and update my review then but from what I read it is four stars.

Loved the cover

This book was well written with a believable and compelling storyline and well developed characters that were believable and relatable. Im sure we all know someone who is so nice that people walk all over them all the time - whether its us or someone we know, until something gives and they decide that they don't want to do that anymore.
I really liked Anna, I took her to my heart and was rooting for her all the way through the book, whereas some of the other characters were so unlikable.
A really enjoyable read

A story about standing up for yourself, written in a way that is incredibly realistic and subtle.

I found Anna's story and character so REAL - a girl who is known for being "nice" and will do anything for anyone. Hearing the feelings and inner turmoil of a person like this, was such an interesting concept and Sophie Jo wrote it beautifully. Her personal development through the book was lovely to see, as was the cast of very believeable characters around her.

On an aesthetic level, I really liked the subtle references to things that the characters like (Converge, etc) written as something the protagonist will "have to google" also very real and teenage! How many times have we first heard of a band because it's on a person we would like to be friends with's hoodie?

I would love to read more by this author and will keep an eye out for books by her! Thank you so much to the publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

This book is a relatable, well written story about the struggle to say no to people, from the perspective of a teenage girl (Anna) . The characters were well written, in particular Anna, and I found I was really able to root for her throughout this book. I did find some characters , such as Ryan (a new student at school) , and Marla (Anna’s best friend) very unlikable , which sometimes made it hard to read . However, the ending is very satisfying and I felt all the subplots were tied up well. Overall, this book is a sweet, engaging read, I would definitely recommend .

5/5 For someone always being that nice girl it was lovely to read this relatable story and feel less alone
It was great to see the main character find her way

Summary
Sixth-former Anna Campbell is the go-to girl when anyone needs anything. Teachers, friends, random strangers… It never occurred to her that she could say no. After all, Anna Campbell’s always been too ‘nice' to say no. But Anna is sick of being that girl, the nice girl, and she’s going to do something about it. Only, is she prepared to risk losing everything she cares about – even herself – along the way…? A novel for anyone who’s ever struggled to put themselves first.