Perfect if you love:
- Characters who use humour as a coping mechanism
- Adorable side characters who never shut up
- Weird quid-pro-quo concepts
- The slacker and the perfectionist love stories
- The “can fix everyone except herself” trope
Review:
“I have these two daydreams. One is catching my enemies in a moment when I have the upper hand and they’re embarrassed and I get to act cool and aloof. The other is doing something amazing with my life and coming back to a school reunion and rubbing it in everyone’s faces.”
What do you do when your best friend’s nemesis Meabh casually asks you to push her down the stairs so she can free up some space in her busy schedule? Well, that’s exactly the position the protagonist of Not My Problem, Aideen, finds herself in at the start of this book. And if you thought pushing someone down the stairs would be a weird favour to grant, then you’re not going to believe what else happens in Not My Problem.
This book, in short, was entertaining as hell. Smyth shined with her YA debut The Falling in Love Montage last year, but—dare I say—I enjoyed this one even more? I couldn’t for the life of me put it down because Aideen’s snark was everything. I know humour is subjective but I’d be shocked if there was someone who didn’t enjoy Aideen’s dry comments on her life and her obsession with meeting Kristen Stewart and becoming her wife. Not My Problem is non-stop action without ever dropping its pace or drawing out unnecessary scenes—everything ties in to the main points of the story beautifully.
Beyond the fun shenanigans of suddenly being the “fixer” of everyone’s pretty out there problems that Aideen just loves to tackle, this story has one of the most amazing, platonic f/m friendship I’ve read in ages. Kavi is an absolute show stealer of a guy, every scene he enters he completely takes over with his cute ramblings, hilarious anecdotes and tendency to be the most adorable boy I’ve encountered in literature. His budding friendship/partner in crime situation with Aideen was everything and I loved that even when they did fight, they actually worked on their friendship instead of letting bitter feelings get the best of them.
Now about the romance. I’m a sucker for the “fixes everyone’s lives but can’t figure out her own” trope on a good day but combine it with an adversaries-to-lovers romance and I am unstoppable in my heart-eyes to book-pages ratio. The love interest Meabh was such a relatable character. Whereas Aideen has solid reasons for why she can’t study to get good grades in school, for Meabh good grades, perfect attendance and being an overachiever means everything. Meabh wants to please her parents so desperately that she can’t just randomly drop activities from her schedule and has to get creative in how to free up some time—for example, getting pushed down the stairs to injure her ankle so she can drop her various sports for the time being. What is at once a social commentary on the pressures we put on young students to succeed is relayed in such a funny and admirable way that I think a lot of readers will wholeheartedly adore Meabh, not to mention her canoodling with Aideen. Slacker means perfectionist has never looked this good.
Further, this story was just exceptionally well-layered. Smyth expertly balances the funnier aspects of Aideen’s life with the struggles she faces at home. With having to play babysitter to her alcoholic mother, Aideen can’t keep up with schoolwork and often finds herself torn between being the adult and just wanting to be young and reckless. I loved how her relationship with her mother was explored and how Smyth also took time to develop the topic of who to trust with information and how hard it is to speak up about what’s going on behind closed doors.
With a sarcastic, relatable protagonist you’ll want to be best friends with and fast-paced troubles that spiral, Not My Problem is the perfect combo of entertaining and eye-opening, and it’s not to be missed!
Not My Problem is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 25th 2021.
Will you be picking up Not My Problem? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t fix. Her best (and only) friend is pulling away. Her mother’s drinking problem is a constant concern. She’s even running out of outlandish diseases to fake so she can skip PE.
But when Aideen stumbles on her nemesis, overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the midst of a full-blown meltdown, she sees a problem that—unlike her own disaster of a life—seems refreshingly easy to solve. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help. By pushing Meabh down the stairs.
Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when another student learns about their little scheme and brings Aideen another “client” who needs her “help,” it kicks off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own, but it might be the push she needs to start.
