Deborah Nam-Krane

4/5

The Smartest Girl in the Room

Amazon.UK
Amazon.com

The cover is interesting, and certainly stands out from the rest but I can't tell the genre from the cover. YA or chicklit? Or just maybe a mix of both. The blurb is short and sweet but the ending needs revising. The opening to the blurb is a good hook and tells us a little about the character: she's vulnerable. The closing line: But shouldn't the smartest girl everyone knows realize that the ones she'd cross the line for would do the same for her? needs rewording and possibly delete 'everyone knows' or at least add a comma.

Still, I like it enough to take a look at the Look Inside.It opens with the main character, Emily, and we're told a little about her background but lot more about her friend's, Zainab's, character, so I'm expecting she's going to be a huge character, as well. There are a few classic errors (I say classic because I see these particular ones a lot in indie authors: 'Would you like a cup of tea?' He asked ('He' should be lower case, of course.) NB: I only saw this in the sample chapters.

There are a lot of BRC and  SGC and other initials, which is fine but does become irritating, especially as I forget what they stand for and have to scroll back for a reminder (this is YA chicklit, though, and the younger generation mightn't agree). We're also introduced to Mitch in chapter one, and I realise this book will be his story too as we have his POV.

The second scene is a LOT better than the opening one and chapter two progresses with Emily and Drew (do I detect a love interest there?), and the writing is stronger. I like Emily and want to know what makes her tick. Mitch, as a loveable rogue is an interesting character, too. 

The chapters ticked along nicely, and when Emily was swept off her feet by Mitch I could feel the dizzy love-sick feeling she was feeling, and it made me remember what it was like at that age and feeling those emotions - so I've HUGE respect for the author for pulling that off.

I really did like Emily, and wanted to wrap her up and hug her. She had awful parents, so it wasn't surprising that she felt so strongly for her relationships with her friends. This is a clever book with some dark issues that I expect are probably prevalent with uni students. It is a slow build and the dialogue could be tighter (didn't always know who was talking), but that aside, it's a book with a powerful story to tell with fully-rounded characters.

Best of all, I liked how the book took me in a completely different direction from one that I was expecting. It definitely wasn't predictable. It'll be suitable for the higher-aged YA due to it's drug and sex references. Minimal swearing (one word).

This book will be awarded a spotlight on WWBB 20th June and will have a potential of reaching over 80,000 followers using Triberr, Goodreads, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Blurb
Nineteen year old Emily wants her college diploma fast, and she's going to get it. But when the perfect night with perfect Mitch leads her to a broken heart, Emily is blind to her vulnerability. When the person she cares about the most is hurt as a result, Emily's ambition gives way to more than a little ruthlessness. She's going to use her smarts to take care of herself and protect the people she loves, and everyone else had better stay out of her way. But shouldn't the smartest girl everyone knows realize that the ones she'd cross the line for would do the same for her?

The Smartest Girl In The Room is Book One in The New Pioneers series.

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