Guest Review | This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David

Today on the blog we have a very special guest and a dear friend, Zoe, who reviewed This Is Not A Love Story by Keren David, and I am very happy to have her here today. I hope this brings back great memories of blogging and hope to have you back soon.

Summary

Kitty dreams of a beautiful life, but that's impossible in suburban London where her family is haunted by her father's unexpected death. So when her mum suggest moving to Amsterdam to try a new life, Kitty doesn't take much persuading. Will this be her opportunity to make her life picture perfect?

In Amsterdam she meets moody, unpredictable Ethan, and clever, troubled Theo. Two enigmatic boys, who each harbor their secrets. In a beautiful city and far from home, Kitty finds herself falling in love for the first time.

But will love be everything she expected? And will anyone's heart survive?

Review

So a little while ago on Twitter, a hashtag "#YANeedsMore" started trending and I hopped on the bandwagon myself and wrote a few tweets. The thread was hilarious and downright truthful, and the main theme that seemed to arise is that YA fiction needs more diversity. We need more realism and issues that teenagers go through on a daily basis. Although I agreed wholeheartedly with these tweets, I couldn't help but think of This Is Not A Love Story and how it breaks this norm of YA fiction - because, let me tell you something, this book appreciates the beautiful differences in our world and has depicted them in an outstanding way.

This Is Not A Love Story is told from two points of view: Kitty and Theo. Two teenagers who move from England to Amsterdam and have to deal with family drama and discovering what they truly want in life. Although both Kitty and Theo are the main characters, the book also heavily focuses on other characters such as Ethan who is a brilliantly constructed character who I could picture very clearly in my mind. Despite Keren David ALWAYS blowing me away with her books - without fail - I wasn't too sure how I would feel about this novel since the blurb sounded like a typical love story (if you ignored the title, of course XD) and it didn't particularly sound unique. BOY, I WAS WRONG. This book is so much more than romance, and I wouldn't even say that romance is the key genre. Keren David is an expert at weaving various themes into one book that naturally fall together.

Both Theo and Kitty were great protagonists. I am very happy that this book is told in first person as  I think viewing this story through the eyes of these characters allowed the book to be told in the best way possible. I would love to be friends with Kitty and Theo. Excuse me for saying the most cliché thing about a fictional character, but Kitty is definitely relatable. She is strong but also lets herself be emotional which I think is a great inspiration for people to express themselves. And even though she gets crushes and would like romance etc, she doesn't need a boyfriend to make her life complete which more YA books with female characters should take on.

Back to the diversity. This Is Not a Love Story deals with two families that are religious. This definitely wasn't a major factor in the book, yet within the subtle dialogue I learnt so much more about Judaism and how prejudices are still a big part of life today. Different cultures should be celebrated and that's exactly what this book demonstrated. Moreover, there are LGBTQ+ characters! I won't disclaim which characters for possible spoilers but I really liked how Keren David explored the ideas of labels and how sexuality does not define a person.

Oh, and the setting. This book made me fall in love even more with Amsterdam and I want to visit there again ASAP; I think it is impossible to read this book and not love the city when finishing it. Settings are often not a big deal within fiction as the characters' lives direct the book. Yet I could really appreciate different cultures with this novel therefore encouraging me to read more books set in different countries.

I read this novel is one day and it was the perfect read to sit outside in the summer weather. I give This Is Not a Love Story 4.5 stars, since I found it quite slow to begin with but after a several chapters I couldn't put it down. Big thanks to Shazina for letting me on her blog for the day! Love your blog and our endless amount of Supernatural fangirling! <3

This Is Not a Love Story - Keren David 4.5 stars