ARC REVIEW: ANY OTHER GIRL by Rebecca Phillips

REVIEW: ANY OTHER GIRL

Summary:
After a disastrous, reputation-destroying party at the end of junior year, Kat Henley has a new plan. When it comes to boys—especially other people’s boys:

Don’t touch.
Don’t smile.
Don’t charm.

In the past, drawing attention to herself helped distract people from what really makes Kat different—having two gay parents. But it’s also cost her friendships. Kat can’t afford to lose any more of those, especially not her cousin, Harper. They’re spending one last summer together at the lake, where they run into an intriguing newcomer named Emmett Reese. After years of trying to prove she’s just like everybody else, Kat has found someone who wants her because she’s not. A boy who could be everything she wants too—if Harper hadn’t liked him first…

Author: Rebecca Phillips

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: January 26, 2016

Rating: 5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

I fell head over heels with Phillips' writing when I read FAKING PERFECT so when I saw she had another book coming out, I knew I just had to read it. And I'm so glad I did because ANY OTHER GIRL was so good. It was the perfect summer romance novel and I loved every second of my reading of it.
I think the best part of it was that even though it was clearly a romance novel, there were so many other layers to it with Kat worrying she was too much for other people and trying to bring attention to herself rather than those around her. I think it was written so well because I felt Kat taking the weight of the world on her shoulders so that the people she loved didn't have to.

I also really liked that even though Kat wasn't necessarily in the wrong (at least, in my opinion), she still owned up to her mistakes and apologized. And there was such emphasis on forgiveness in this one, whether you are forgiving a friend, a loved one, or just yourself which was beautiful. It was really well done, especially because while Kat didn't see the error of her ways because she had her perspective of things, she tried to look outside of her perspective to see how other people were affected by her choices and actions and see how they would feel. And I don't think that is highlighted enough in fiction (or reality, tbh) but needs to be. Because even if we are worried about ourselves and our actions, we need to realize that other people will have different reactions to what we say or do because of their experiences and opinions.

I think one of the best things that Phillips does is to make contemporary feel so realistic and write characters that everyone can relate too, even if they have their own quirks. And just like with FAKING PERFECT, our heroine wasn't exactly the perfect girl, but she owned her imperfections and they made her who she was. And I loved that. I liked that she wasn't so caught up on what she wasn't the best at but actively worked to be better every day. I highly recommend this one to everyone.