Not My Problem

It was to no surprise to me that I really liked this book, since I loved The Falling in Love Montage as well! It was hilarious, hysterical, ADORABLE but also heartbreaking. Aideen does not have a great home situation and she kind of deals with that by being a sarcastic little shit who pretends not to care about anything. I loved reading everything she said and was up to throughout the book, but I also wanted to SHAKE HER so many times because she just refused to get help 🙈 That being said, I did really enjoy this and I really liked her as a main character. The friendships she made throughout the book were also so incredibly fun and precious to read about 🥺❤️

The book won't be out for another month or so, but I highly recommend you pick this up if you're looking for a wholesome (but also heartbreaking) YA contemporary!

‘Not My Problem’ follows 16 year old Aideen, who is willing to bend over backwards to help complete strangers at her school fix their problems, yet can’t seem to fix her own.

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*spoilers ahead*

Aideen is dealing with a lot at school and at home. She lives in poverty with her mum, a recovering alcoholic who is trying her best but who can’t help but get her hopes up each time Aideen’s father fancies a break from his other family and comes back around to mess things up.

At school, she is struggling in every subject and is often in trouble as she never turns in homework and has poor attendance. Her best (and only) friend is drifting away from her, and as she makes new friends, Aideen feels herself being left behind.

One day, while skiving from PE as usual, the head teacher’s perfect daughter asks Aideen for a favour, leading her to embark on her “social enterprise”. This results in Aideen finding true friendship, an unlikely romance and the courage to ask for help.

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Ciara Smyth has a way of writing such flawed and nuanced characters you can’t help but love.

Aideen is a character you root for from the start, and when she messes up, you root for her even more. She is hilarious and sarcastic and so underestimated by those closest to her. It was a privilege to get to know her, and to see her slowly advocate for herself more through the story as she learned its okay to call people out for making you feel like shit, and to ask for help when you need it.

The friendship between Aideen, Kavi and Meabh is just so great, I love the found family dynamic between these three characters, who haven’t had the support they needed until this new friendship develops. It is a relationship that benefits all of them equally and they don’t quite seem to realise just how much!

The blossoming romance between Aideen and Meabh is adorable, both are super stubborn which makes it so much better when they finally let each other in. I’m sad it happened so close to the end, we barely got enough of them!

I throughly enjoyed this book, and really wished there was an epilogue (or several more chapters) - I need to know what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ciara Smyth manages to take two of my least favorite genres, slam them into a book and make me love them. I am not a contemporary reader, and I am most definitely not a romance reader. However, the way that Smyth weaves humor in and out of these heavier topics genuinely makes me love these stories.

This book touches on interesting topics without it feeling too heavy. A point is made, but it’s just subtle enough that you can enjoy the overarching point without feeling preached to. I genuinely appreciated the way that Smyth addresses boundary setting with friends, and even parents to an extent.

From the humor to the romance, everything about this book brought me genuine joy.

Full review will be posted on my blog on June 3rd, 2021.

Trigger Warnings*:alcoholism (mother is an alcoholic), bullying, toxic friendships

*This is not an exhaustive list, these are just trigger warnings I picked up on but there may be others.

Review may contain mild spoilers!

Not My Problem is Ciara Smyth's second novel, and it's just as brilliant, if not more, than her first: The Falling in Love Montage. The Falling in Love Montage was a stunning coming-of-age romantic debut, dealing with dementia and complicated parental relationships.

Not My Problem is similar: there is a great romance & it explores the a complicated mother-daughter relationship, while also exploring toxic friendships and academic pressure. Smyth writes this all with nuance, wit, and care.

I really loved our protagonist, Aideen. She was sassy, complicated, and really needed to learn to give herself some credit and a break. When the book opens, she's behind on schoolwork (and failing the work she did manage to hand in) and stressed about her mother and a potential relapse. Not to mention she feels awkward around her best friend Holly, who makes low blow comments about her intelligence, but doesn't quite believe she's allowed to be upset about it since Holly has been there for her through tough times.

It is a usual day for Aideen. She's skiving P.E. (the notes she had written to excuse herself were pure hilarious) when she walks in to the girls changing room, to witness a sight to behold . . . Meabh, who everyone thinks as Miss Perfect and Overachiever, throwing an almighty tantrum. Aideen, being Aideen, gets great delight out of seeing her nemesis (they have a rocky past) cry, until she doesn't. She doesn't get as much joy as she thinks she should've gotten, and so she asks Meabh what is wrong.

And my goodness, the banter was right off the bat! This conversation between them in the changing room was hilarious. Aideen and her snarky jibes, and Meabh who gave as good as she got back. I instantly felt the beginning of their chemistry. And then Aideen jokes about pushing Meabh down the stairs. Except, not really, because Meabh begs her to do it.

I was wondering how the book would pull off this plot, because obviously this is not a sane thing to do to avoid work stress and the pressures of a fathers expectations etc. I was worried that it would come across wrong, but with the way the book developed and dealt with Meabh working through her problems (her expectations for herself, her extreme fear of failure) was really quite well handled. (But please, don't ask someone to give you a light shove down the stairs to avoid your work lol).

The scene then introduced Kavi, my favourite character! Kavi was just a joy. He was so chatty and it was brilliant, he had such a vivid personality. I loved how he was always ready for a scheme & could instantly come up with some random excuse (his long dramatic wail about being in love with Meabh...funny af). I found he was such a great addition to the story. He stood well as a side character, but offered so much in his relationships with Aideen and Meabh, respectively. There is a bathroom scene that I particularly loved (they are all so supportive of each other!! It was beautiful) but one of my utter favourite scenes, and one of the books best was a scene where Kavi called out Aideen on her behaviour. It was something Aideen needed to hear, to reflect on how she treated him but also so she could realise how she was being treated - that really was a defining point in her realising the difference between a 'toxic' relationship and a healthy one. And I was also so proud of Kavi for standing up for himself, and he did it in a gentle, but firm way. A good way to show boundaries.

This brings me to the relationship with Holly, Aideen's best friend, but is Holly hers? This is a question that sits at the back of Aideen's mind. Holly will say she will sit with Aideen, only for Aideen to turn up to find Holly sitting with her other friends. Which is fine with Aideen, I never get a sense that she's mad that Holly does have other friends, but she's more upset that Holly continually treats her as an afterthought. Yet, Aideen does not act on this feeling, because she feels a quiet sense of being indebted to Holly - because Holly buys her lunch, gave her a coat, let her sleepover a few times, and not to mentions buys her her favourite lip balm when apologising (which Aideen realises, means that if she refuses to accept the apology after that, makes her look mean). Not to mention Holly is happy to have other friends, but the second Aideen finds people who want to talk to her? WOW! Did the jealous and possessive green monster come out!! Anyways, this was certainly a complicated and toxic situation, and I really loved how Aideen began to realise - with the support of other friends - what was wrong with her relationship with Holly, and how she deserved better than someone who always called her stupid and lied/left her out of plans.

Speaking of friends, I have mentioned Kavi, but I really loved how Aideen began to form friendships with the people she did favours for. It was a mix group of friends but they all came together and turned up for Aideen (and Meabh) and it was really lovely and heartwarming. Those friendships forming was definitely a highlight of the book for me. It was good to see Aideen connect to more people and realise that it is okay for her to go after other relationships and start to live her own life.

And that's why I bloody loved the ending of the book. It wasn't a 'everything is magically fixed' ending, but I was SO proud of Aideen. I don't want to spoil it, but the book ended perfectly. Also big shout out to Aideen's form teacher for checking in on her, supporting her, and being there to listen. That was something Aideen needed and it was great that she never gave up on her, especially when she heard Aideen state how she felt there was no point in even trying to do well at things like school work because she didn't want to fail peoples expectations, etc.

Returning to fear of expectations, I loved how the book ended for Meabh too. Honestly, I was cheering for both her and Aideen. Also, I really loved how their relationship developed over the course of this book. The way they went from being sort-of-rivals, to reluctant friends, to friends, to something more was pure excellence. The banter between them? Amazing. Such a well thought out and developed relationship.

Overall, this was a really good book. Aideen was a fantastic protagonist, I loved the relationship between Aideen and Meabh, and the friendship they both had with Kavi makes up a large part of the heart of the novel. The book was well plotted, well paced, discussed serious issues with sensitivity and nuance and I enjoyed every side character and thought they each felt distinct. I would definitely read a spin off novel, I'm desperately hoping Sophie decides to write one for Kavi & Laura!!

A superb sophomore novel from one of the most exciting voices in Irish YA at this moment in time.NOT MY PROBLEM is a fantastic coming of age novel that is all about overcoming expectations (be they societal or self imposed), finding your people and standing up for yourself. I thought this novel managed to balance the more serious topics with a fun plot, finding the perfect balance between gripping the book with anxiety because of how invested you are in the protagonist's wellbeing and being laugh out loud funny.
I thought that Smyth particularly nailed the voice in this one - the way that anxiety and doubt and the need to set things just so because if people can tell what's wrong that Aideen may just have to accept it herself is heartbreaking, yet so authentic and integral to the story. The apprehension with which she approaches people (or rather allows people to allow her), the tough exterior hiding away something tender and delicate underneath, the sarcasm and jokes hiding such profound worries ... I ate up every last bit of it.
On a lighter note, I also adored the shennanigans, drama and, of course, the lesbian himbo solidarity.
This was an absolute delight start to finish.

I have to preface this review by saying: AIDEEN MY BEST GIRL <3 YOU DESERVE THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD

Okay, now that that's out the way! This book is so full of heart and love; it'll make you laugh out loud and instantly fall in love with the characters you meet. Ciara Smyth once again delivers with a funny, heartfelt lesbian rom-com of my dreams. I went into this book knowing that I'd love it like my own, after adoring 'The Falling in love Montage' last year and feeling so incredibly seen by the lesbian representation, but this book somehow manages to top Ciara's previous book in all of its comedic glory.

Throughout this book I struggled to hold back my laughter. Our main character, Aideen, is sarcastic, witty and probably the new love of my life. Her ingenious idea to start helping people with favours ties her together with both Meabh and Kavi, both of whom typically keep to themselves at school. From this sparks the most heartwarming and genuine friendships between Aideen and her 'clients', as well as the unsuspecting trio. These three together are so incredibly funny, and each of their personalities contrast with each other perfectly to form a group of people who just click together.

Maebh is perceived as the 'goody two shoes' of the school and is very uptight, and constantly following her busy schedules. Both her and Aideen's characters are written so well, and they're both very multidimensional characters with lots of hidden depths which I loved exploring so much!! Neither of them are perfect by any means and I loved how Ciara highlighted this and showed how each character had a flaw, it only made them seem more real to me.

I think the exploration of alcoholism, friendships, relationships and realising when you need to ask for help were all handled incredibly in this book. Any time we get an insight into Aideen's home life, it's handled with incredible grace and care. I can't stress enough how real these characters felt to me, and I think it's down to the fact that their messy, raw, real emotions are displayed for us to see, and this book is certainly not sugar-coated to portray all of the characters as perfect.
The character growth arc of Aideen, particularly with her friend Holly, was phenomenal. Toxic friendships is something that's not discussed enough, especially in YA, where it could be argued that it's most prevalent; but Ciara manages to write such realistic, intricate storylines with the incredible underlying theme that it's okay to cut someone of if they are mistreating you and that relationship has turned toxic. This is something I think will resonate with so many people and is so, so important to speak up on.

If you're looking for a laugh-out loud, witty and nuanced read, this is definitely the one for you. With two lesbians at the centre of the story (who openly call themselves lesbians!! ahhh still something so exciting to me), 'Not My Problem' is an incredible sapphic rom-com that will have you yearning for more.
I have to preface this review by saying: AIDEEN MY BEST GIRL <3 YOU DESERVE THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD

Okay, now that that's out the way! This book is so full of heart and love; it'll make you laugh out loud and instantly fall in love with the characters you meet. Ciara Smyth once again delivers with a funny, heartfelt lesbian rom-com of my dreams. I went into this book knowing that I'd love it like my own, after adoring 'The Falling in love Montage' last year and feeling so incredibly seen by the lesbian representation, but this book somehow manages to top Ciara's previous book in all of its comedic glory.

Throughout this book I struggled to hold back my laughter. Our main character, Aideen, is sarcastic, witty and probably the new love of my life. Her ingenious idea to start helping people with favours ties her together with both Meabh and Kavi, both of whom typically keep to themselves at school. From this sparks the most heartwarming and genuine friendships between Aideen and her 'clients', as well as the unsuspecting trio. These three together are so incredibly funny, and each of their personalities contrast with each other perfectly to form a group of people who just click together.

Maebh is perceived as the 'goody two shoes' of the school and is very uptight, and constantly following her busy schedules. Both her and Aideen's characters are written so well, and they're both very multidimensional characters with lots of hidden depths which I loved exploring so much!! Neither of them are perfect by any means and I loved how Ciara highlighted this and showed how each character had a flaw, it only made them seem more real to me.

I think the exploration of alcoholism, friendships, relationships and realising when you need to ask for help were all handled incredibly in this book. Any time we get an insight into Aideen's home life, it's handled with incredible grace and care. I can't stress enough how real these characters felt to me, and I think it's down to the fact that their messy, raw, real emotions are displayed for us to see, and this book is certainly not sugar-coated to portray all of the characters as perfect.
The character growth arc of Aideen, particularly with her friend Holly, was phenomenal. Toxic friendships is something that's not discussed enough, especially in YA, where it could be argued that it's most prevalent; but Ciara manages to write such realistic, intricate storylines with the incredible underlying theme that it's okay to cut someone of if they are mistreating you and that relationship has turned toxic. This is something I think will resonate with so many people and is so, so important to speak up on.

If you're looking for a laugh-out loud, witty and nuanced read, this is definitely the one for you. With two lesbians at the centre of the story (who openly call themselves lesbians!! ahhh still something so exciting to me), 'Not My Problem' is an incredible sapphic rom-com that will have you yearning for more.

Not My Problem is a YA contemporary novel following 16 year old Aideen Cleary as she navigates her new role as the school 'fixer'. Aideen has a whale of a time doing favours for her classmates, but still can't seem to manage or fix the struggles in her own life. It's such a simple concept but it works so incredibly well.
Reading from Aideen's perpective was a delight, she's insanely witty and snarky which makes for a hilarious lens through which you view all the other characters and their interactions. Aideen is a fully realised character, her voice is natural and familiar and so are her values, priorities and motives.
Kavi and Maebh are equally fleshed out characters, with endearing qualities given to both (which resulted in me crying every time one of them was even midly inconvenienced). The entire cast are all people you've met before, all so real and nuanced that their dialogue jumps off the page and feels more like a memory than fiction.
The pacing was fabulous, consistently hitting important beats to keep you compulsively turning the pages. This book does a great job of showing the reader the implications of the plot developments on the characters, rather than just telling you. The writing in general is immaculate, no words were wasted and yet I felt everything Aideen felt so deeply and was enthralled by the story throughout.
Finally, the themes of this book were very well presented and discussed. The whole point of this book is that Aideen can solve everyone else's problems with ease, and she uses her 'fixer' role to get some reprieve from her own struggles. This is conveyed so well without diminishing the constant stress of situations like Aideen's. Also this book has excellent lesbian representation without it being the one and only focus of the book and WHAT MORE COULD I ASK FOR?
As you can Cleary see (lol, get it?), I have no qualms with this book and I think it is flawless. That is all.

Thank you so much to Andersen Press and NetGalley for the e-arc, I'm very grateful.