Solitaire by Alice Oseman

This was an enjoyable insight into a modern teenager's view of the world and on this evidence it's pretty much the same as when I grew up in the 80s - despondency, confusion and inexplicable bouts of full-on depression for little or no apparent reason! In this sense, it was strangely comforting to know that the youth of today are not so different after all.

The proliferation of social media throughout the book is well handled, as you would expect from such a young author and the writing style is straightforward but with a maturity that is also impressive in a writer of such a young age.

The story itself is quite slender and not overplotted but this only adds to the realism of the story. But these types of first person story stand or fall on whether or not you want to spend time with the main protagonist and in this case I did: Tori Spring is a very likeable protagonist and though her sometimes inexplicable bad moods can sometimes become a bit repetitive, this is exactly what being a teenager suffering from angst is like!

So, on the whole, this was an interesting, realistic and enjoyable read, if a little middle of the road for my tastes, but this could be a reflection of the YA nature of the book itself. But if you want an intriguing story about teenagers that's not filled with graphic violence and bad language but has a warm, relatable heart, then this could be for you.