Contemporary

Not My Problem

Not My Problem

  • Downloads：2306
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-26 10:52:08
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ciara Smyth
  • ISBN：0062957147
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

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。

Download

Reviews

Emily ，

Books that are set in Ireland are definitely some of my favourite to read about especially when they use the lingo that is used。 This is a super heartwarming coming of age story that focuses on friends & family while dealing with hard issues such as poverty & alcoholism。 This definitely felt like Derry Girls but in book form & I really enjoyed it

Jaye Berry ，

TW: alcoholic mother， bullying， toxic best friendGod， it's brutal out here。Not My Problem is about a girl named Aideen that has plenty of problems she can't fix。 Her mother has started drinking again and her only friend is pulling away from her。 She's even running out of outlandish diseases to get out of PE。 Then she accidentally finds overachiever Meabh in the middle of a meltdown- Meabh is being crushed by all the things she has to do and Aideen can't help but offer to help her。 Her solution？ TW: alcoholic mother， bullying， toxic best friendGod， it's brutal out here。Not My Problem is about a girl named Aideen that has plenty of problems she can't fix。 Her mother has started drinking again and her only friend is pulling away from her。 She's even running out of outlandish diseases to get out of PE。 Then she accidentally finds overachiever Meabh in the middle of a meltdown- Meabh is being crushed by all the things she has to do and Aideen can't help but offer to help her。 Her solution？ Push her down the stairs。 Meabh's problem is solved but then word gets around that Aideen helps fix problems， for a price。You know when you've read so many shitty or meh books in a row and you've completely lost all hope of loving a book again？ This book came out of nowhere to remind me: hey reading is actually fun？？？ I fucking loved this book， no joke。Because I am obsessed with Olivia Rodrigo's debut album I will point to the song Brutal and how it is 1000% the same energy as this book。 Trust me Olivia wrote it for this MC， she told me herself。This is a hard hitting coming of age story but it was also filled with fun friend shenanigans and romance。 There was more friendship than romance bUT the romance was really， really cute。 I loved them so much and every moment between them was fire。 Aideen and Meabh spend the entire book bickering like an old married couple but their banter and chemistry was so good I just wanted to scream into a pillow （out of love）。 They were both stubborn but seeing them grow closer together was so sweet。This book was gay as hell but so casually gay and it also had nothing to do with being gay。 There was no coming out or literally A N Y homophobia or shitty comments and I cannot express how much it meant to me to read a story with two girls just falling in love without getting hate crimed every step of the way。 It's so funny to call a book that had barely any romance one of the best f/f romances I've read lately but it's all about the yearning and the banter for me and it was top tier！！The friendships！！！ Ugh， *chef's kiss*。 Kavi was the sweetest and most lovable boy in the world and I would die for him。 Him growing closer to Aideen was so PURE。 Aideen is such a snarky and kind of an asshole character， who does things that are questionable but because she doesn't want to let anyone in and try to fix her problems。 But I would also die for her！！！ She throws herself into helping other people to distract from her own problems but she has a heart of gold and she was so funny。 All of the humor in this book was exactly my kind of shit。 All the things they got into while trying to help classmates was so entertaining and my god I was smILING at this tomfoolery。 Who am I？？Amongst the fun， it also deals with the fact that Aideen is struggling with her mom and a toxic friend and that was so heartbreaking。 I know we've all had a toxic friend we've had to cut off and it's never fun， but you really gotta yeet those toxic assholes。 Aideen spends so much of the book not wanting help and it was hard to see her struggle into she finally got into the mindset that asking for help isn't weakness。Mileage may vary but this was a banger for me。 。。。more

Mia ，

This was very similar to The Falling in Love Montage from problems with parents to characterization。 I just like Smyth debut book better even though this was good。

Brittany ，

Snarky and heartfelt。 I love this author's humor， the incredible representation that is always included， and how emotional the different storylines are。 The only thing I didn't love was the ending because I really needed to leave this knowing everyone was in a good place and that just wasn't possible。 I hope this author doesn't slow down！ Snarky and heartfelt。 I love this author's humor， the incredible representation that is always included， and how emotional the different storylines are。 The only thing I didn't love was the ending because I really needed to leave this knowing everyone was in a good place and that just wasn't possible。 I hope this author doesn't slow down！ 。。。more

gracie ，

aideen i love you。 also the cast in this book is ace。 really good book。 one of my favs of this half of this year so far。 4。5 stars

Em ，

This book was a lot of fun。 I gave it a 3 out of 5， I liked this book a lot but it wasn't one of my favorites。 The main character starts a "business" helping other people and through this she makes some new friends and a love interest。 The main character also is trying to navigate through problems at home and through her friendships。 She eventually learns to depend on people and ask for help。 Also the little romance on the side。。。。 is really cute and it's gay！ Overall， I definitely recommend thi This book was a lot of fun。 I gave it a 3 out of 5， I liked this book a lot but it wasn't one of my favorites。 The main character starts a "business" helping other people and through this she makes some new friends and a love interest。 The main character also is trying to navigate through problems at home and through her friendships。 She eventually learns to depend on people and ask for help。 Also the little romance on the side。。。。 is really cute and it's gay！ Overall， I definitely recommend this and。。。。 it came out today so go read it。 。。。more

Lex Kent ，

I loved this！ I was a big fan of Smyth’s， The Falling in Love Montage， so this book was on the top of my must read of 2021 list。 My expectations were high， but this book met every single one of them。 I’m happily surprised to say this， but I thought this book was actually better than TFILM。 This is the kind of book that I think is just a must for YA fans。 And even if you are not a huge YA fan， this book is written so well that I think you will love it anyway。 This book didn’t even give me a minut I loved this！ I was a big fan of Smyth’s， The Falling in Love Montage， so this book was on the top of my must read of 2021 list。 My expectations were high， but this book met every single one of them。 I’m happily surprised to say this， but I thought this book was actually better than TFILM。 This is the kind of book that I think is just a must for YA fans。 And even if you are not a huge YA fan， this book is written so well that I think you will love it anyway。 This book didn’t even give me a minute to settle in。 I was hooked after a few lines and Smyth had me wrapped around her little finger for the rest of the book。 The writing was so good and there were many brilliant lines。 I can’t even tell you how many quotes I wanted to write down since I lost track。 I love Smyth’s humor。 She is so witty and it is the kind of book humor that actually works for me。 If I wasn’t so swamped with reading， I’d be turning back to page one -as soon as I finished this review- to read this whole book again。 There are so many lines and parts that I want to enjoy again and if you read my reviews， you will know I’m not a big re-reader so it’s a huge compliment to Smyth’s writing。 Unlike The Falling in Love Montage， this is more of a coming of age story than a romance。 There is a cute， sort of enemies to lovers romance， but it’s not the main focus。 However， I thought the amount of romance worked perfectly with the book。 With everything else going on for our main character， the amount of romance was a good fit and I thought the couple was adorable too。While the plot is very good， never boring and keeps you turning the pages， the characters were the heart of the book for me。 I loved them all。 Aideen， is the perfect main character to be in the headspace of and every other important or secondary character was well done too。 There were no cardboard cut-outs， instead everyone was really fleshed-out with their own unique voice。 This was the kind of YA that gave me all the feels。 I did cry a little at one point， and had some misty eyes until the end， but the humor helped to keep this book much more in the feel good lane。 This is the kind of YA book I love。 I honestly have no complaints and am a very happy camper。 I’m looking forward to gushing and chatting about this book as more reviews start coming in。 A copy was given to me for a review。 。。。more

Megan Phoebe ，

thank you netgalley and HaperTeen for an advanced copy of this book！！This book was very enjoyable！ It took me a while to get into it， which is often the case for me with books， but once I was， I was hooked ！！！ I have never read a book based in Ireland before， and honestly I don’t much about it so it was a nice surprise to see that it was based in Ireland。 I learnt a lot！The storyline itself was very great。 The idea behind it， a favour for a favour， was really interesting and I liked it more than thank you netgalley and HaperTeen for an advanced copy of this book！！This book was very enjoyable！ It took me a while to get into it， which is often the case for me with books， but once I was， I was hooked ！！！ I have never read a book based in Ireland before， and honestly I don’t much about it so it was a nice surprise to see that it was based in Ireland。 I learnt a lot！The storyline itself was very great。 The idea behind it， a favour for a favour， was really interesting and I liked it more than I expected。 The friendship part of the story was great too， Kavi is definitely a personal favourite in this book。 He was just everything。 The lil bits of romance also added to the book， and it fit so perfectly - a very subtle kind of enemies to lovers？ The more difficult aspects of the storyline were tackled so brilliantly and the ending rounded up the story so well！！ Thank you for talking about things that aren’t often talked about - using a food bank， alcoholic parents， caring for your parent， divorce。 。。。more

Isabel ，

This book was great！ Like The Falling in Love Montage， it did a wonderful job of blending a cute romance and a fun plot with some deeper and more serious issues。 I was also surprised by how funny this book was。 Aideen， the main character， was remarkably witty， and I loved all of her little one-liners。 I definitely liked The Falling in Love Montage better， but this book was still worth the read。

Sarah Taylor ，

Overwhelmed with her personal life， Aideen has little sympathy for her enemy-since-middle school when she finds her crying in the bathroom。 She's more than willing， however， to help her out， if it means pushing her down the stairs。 Meabh needs more time in her busy schedule， and getting benched during her athletics seems like the perfect way to do it。 After their plan gets overheard， however， Aideen finds herself running an accidental business helping students in unlikely ways。 After all， helpin Overwhelmed with her personal life， Aideen has little sympathy for her enemy-since-middle school when she finds her crying in the bathroom。 She's more than willing， however， to help her out， if it means pushing her down the stairs。 Meabh needs more time in her busy schedule， and getting benched during her athletics seems like the perfect way to do it。 After their plan gets overheard， however， Aideen finds herself running an accidental business helping students in unlikely ways。 After all， helping other people is easier than facing her own problems。This book is funny， lighthearted， and empowering， all while facing some tough issues such as racism， homophobia， poverty， broken families， and losing friends。 It spins it all together exceptionally well， and it had me rooting for all the characters the whole way through。 Aideen stole my heart， and watching her grow up was like looking at my younger self through a new lens。 It had excellent representation of being a young queer girl， and all the confusing emotions that can come with that。 Not My Problem is the perfect queer read for all the young adult readers looking for something potent， hilarious， and ultimately hopeful。 。。。more

Amanda ☕ Steeping Stories ☕ ，

there is no way i won't be reading this after falling so hard for The Falling in Love Montage there is no way i won't be reading this after falling so hard for The Falling in Love Montage 。。。more

CR ，

This was a great story about one girls idea to help out the spoiled kids so they owe her favors and I have to say that its genius！！ Aideen is dealing with some heavy topics in this one。 Mainly her mothers alcoholism。 The plot was authentic and the LGBTQ themes was not a plot in the story。 It was just there and that was wonderful that it wasn't at the forefront。 Just for the fact that it shouldn't be。 Wither the MC is straight or gay etc it shouldn't matter。 I can't wait for more。 This was a great story about one girls idea to help out the spoiled kids so they owe her favors and I have to say that its genius！！ Aideen is dealing with some heavy topics in this one。 Mainly her mothers alcoholism。 The plot was authentic and the LGBTQ themes was not a plot in the story。 It was just there and that was wonderful that it wasn't at the forefront。 Just for the fact that it shouldn't be。 Wither the MC is straight or gay etc it shouldn't matter。 I can't wait for more。 。。。more

Poppy ，

Sweet Flubberygiblets， this book is amazing！ Often， books promise to make you laugh out loud - finally， a book delivers the hilarity in spades， balancing the spot-on humour with a tough portrayal of parental alcohol abuse。 We follow sixteen year old Aideen as she starts up a "social enterprise" trading favours。 It all starts with pushing her greatest enemy down the stairs。。。 and everything just escalates from there with hilarious consequences。Aideen doesn't start off as a particularly sympatheti Sweet Flubberygiblets， this book is amazing！ Often， books promise to make you laugh out loud - finally， a book delivers the hilarity in spades， balancing the spot-on humour with a tough portrayal of parental alcohol abuse。 We follow sixteen year old Aideen as she starts up a "social enterprise" trading favours。 It all starts with pushing her greatest enemy down the stairs。。。 and everything just escalates from there with hilarious consequences。Aideen doesn't start off as a particularly sympathetic hero as she mouths-off to teachers， refuse to do homework and fake her way out of PE。 However， Smyth takes us on an amazing journey with Aideen， both as she discovers what friendship truly means， falls in love and tries to balance school-life and trying to keep her mother on the straight and narrow。 The portrayal of Aideen's home life， and the reason for the way she acts in school， is truly heartbreaking。 Her visit to a food bank is the most affecting and well-written section as Aideen faces the reality of being poor in a school of privileged classmates。I need to dedicate a couple of sentences of this review to assert how much I HATE Holly。 Every time she spoke down to Aideen and made her feel stupid or rejected， my fury towards her continued to grow。 I wish she got more of a comeuppance than she did。Overall， this book is fantastic。 Hilarious， heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure - go and read Aideen's story。 You will not regret it。 5 stars。Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

☆Pelumi☆ （Go stream SUN GOES DOWN by LIL NAS X） ，

Arc denied。。。。I'm on a loser roll at this point！ Arc denied。。。。I'm on a loser roll at this point！ 。。。more

Bryony Indecisive Reader ，

I really liked The Falling In Love Montage， Smyth’s first book。 I think I was a little harder on it at the time -in my head， because I didn’t review it on the blog- than I am in retrospect。 When I read it originally I wanted a pure squishy romance， and it certainly was that， but it was a bunch of other stuff， too。 At the time I felt the other stuff kind of got in the way of what I was looking for。 My issue， not the book’s。Well， I’m in a less frantically missing my partner headspace right now， an I really liked The Falling In Love Montage， Smyth’s first book。 I think I was a little harder on it at the time -in my head， because I didn’t review it on the blog- than I am in retrospect。 When I read it originally I wanted a pure squishy romance， and it certainly was that， but it was a bunch of other stuff， too。 At the time I felt the other stuff kind of got in the way of what I was looking for。 My issue， not the book’s。Well， I’m in a less frantically missing my partner headspace right now， and am ready for other stuff。 This is all to the good， because Not My Problem is very much more of the same but better。We’ve all been there， right？ One person asks us for a favour， and out of the goodness of our hearts we break someone’s ankle for them。 Then one thing leads to another and we find ourselves breaking into our school， and bustung a passing acquaintance out of his bedroom。 No？ Just me？ Okay… Well either way， that’s where Aideen finds herself。 All the while dealing with her alcoholic mother， less than stellar academic performance and a slight crush on the school tryhard。Ciara Smyth has it。 So many writers don’t。 So often you read a book， and if it weren’t for the name on the front you wouldn’t be able to tell who wrote it。 If you were reading a Samantha Shannon book or a Holly Bourne book， you stand a good chance of knowing it， even without looking at the name on the cover， and no just because in the former’s case you could bludgeon a lion into submission with the hardback。 Ciara Smyth is the same。 The characters and the place feel authentic， the voice and style are unique and sharp as a tack。 The relationships are messy in the way that Ciara Smyth does best。The parental relationship in Not My Problem was messy， but we already knew Smyth could do that well from her previous book。 One of my favourite aspects of this book was the messy friendship。 One of Aideen’s friendships is pretty toxic， and it’s done so well， and especially how Aideen comes to realise it and confront it。 We’re shown the effect it’s had on her in the way her new friendships grow and develop。 Slowly， and not painlessly it turns out。The romance was satisfyingly built and felt real and is the best kind of enemies to lovers。 Where it wasn’t so much that they were enemies at all， but they didn’t know each other， all they had were preconceived ideas of each other。 It’s not my favourite trope， because often it’s done badly。 Here， like everything else Smyth does， it’s done extremely well。On a personal note， I loved， truly madly loved， how working class Aideen was。 I don’t know about you， but I’m sick to the back teeth of car owning， stuff doing， money having privileged gits in YA。 More working class protagonists in YA， please！Ciara Smyth is an exceptionally talented writer。 Her sentences are sharp， her characters feel real， voice oozes from her prose。 And she likes Taylor Swift。 She’s at the top of not just her game， but most other people’s as well。 I can’t recommend Not My Problem enough。 。。。more

Ellie （faerieontheshelf） ，

Despite intending to start a different book， something compelled me to pick up Not My Problem instead and I was hooked very quickly。 NMP has been compared to the TV programme Derry Girls， and it's a really accurate comparison - it's just as funny and filled with teen-related hijinks， but with an additional deeper underlayer that characterises Smyth's books。 Aideen is a heroine you love almost immediately - her narrative voice gripped me with it's humorous tone and compelled me to finish the book Despite intending to start a different book， something compelled me to pick up Not My Problem instead and I was hooked very quickly。 NMP has been compared to the TV programme Derry Girls， and it's a really accurate comparison - it's just as funny and filled with teen-related hijinks， but with an additional deeper underlayer that characterises Smyth's books。 Aideen is a heroine you love almost immediately - her narrative voice gripped me with it's humorous tone and compelled me to finish the book in under 24 hours。 And the story itself is really heartwarming， with her going from an almost-loner to amassing a group of assorted friends through her little troubleshooter/favour-for-favour system。 She's witty and sarcastic， but she also has a lot of heart and is always willing to help - even people she doesn't know。 She's a really good egg。 Aideen's relationship with love interest Meabh is equally wonderful， building up slowly over the course of the novel over bickering text messages and ill-formed plans。 Meabh， actually， is a character who is a stiff， high-strung overachiever 。 。 。 until you learn more about about her through Aideen's eyes and become really fond of her。 She's not a 'perfect' character， but this meant I only liked her more because she felt genuine。 Things that others would consider flaws were things Aideen really liked about her， which was really sweet and very much how it often goes in real life too。 Kavi is the second character who makes up the third member of their little trip， and he is THE cinnamon roll of this book！ He's really darn cute and I love him， and the sense of warmth and joy and love he emanated throughout the book was priceless。 He goes on spiels and you can really imagine him just saying all these massive speeches without stopping to breathe， and <33 I love himAlso， Ms Devlin！！ Her dry humour and the way she interacted with Aideen was really wholesome to me。 She really reminded me of Sister Michael from Derry Girls， except maybe slightly younger and also not a nun？ Either way， one of my fave YA teachers。 Then there's side characters like Orla and Angela 。 。 。 all of the characters in this book were excellent and unique and brought something to the story。 You get where I'm going - I'm just super fond of the cast here， down to the supporting characters。 Something that added a bit of a backbone of levity to a book filled with ill-formed plans was the fact that Aideen's mother is a struggling alcoholic。 This is something that has seriously affected Aideen's home life and it means Aideen considers carefully how she gets by every day。 This book also examines poverty in a thoughtful way。 There's also the fact Aideen has anxiety， and although it's not diagnosed， the symptoms are really similar to what I've experienced。 Then another tenet of this book is relationships: Aideen doesn't tell people about her problems at home， which means her relationships are never equal because she doesn't want to tell people about her problems and rely on them too much。 But this book really does explore what friendships actually mean and how they should be equal， and how you should be able to rely on your friends and how they should be able to rely on you。 I enjoyed Ciara Smyth's debut The Falling In Love Montage， but on a personal level I connected to this one much more and found it much funnier so it's by far my favourite of Smyth's two books so far。 Definitely recommend。（I'll likely polish and extend this review later， but wanted to jot down some quick thoughts first。） > 4。5 starsrep: lesbian mc; lesbian polish-irish love interest 。。。more

Ally Watkins ，

This was a ton of fun。 I definitely preferred this book to the author’s first novel。 It felt far more authentic。 It balances humor and tough topics deftly。 An excellent read！Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced e-galley。 All opinions are my own。

Sydnie ，

Not My Problem is a fantastic and imaginative coming of age novel that is witty and humorous while still dealing with difficult but relatable topics many teens face today。 The writing was top notch and the characters were brilliant。 I really enjoyed reading as relationships developed and storylines played out in a way that made me instantly fall in love with the characters。 The lesbian representation was done well， though there wasn't much of a romance storyline until the very end。 All in all， t Not My Problem is a fantastic and imaginative coming of age novel that is witty and humorous while still dealing with difficult but relatable topics many teens face today。 The writing was top notch and the characters were brilliant。 I really enjoyed reading as relationships developed and storylines played out in a way that made me instantly fall in love with the characters。 The lesbian representation was done well， though there wasn't much of a romance storyline until the very end。 All in all， the story is mainly about friendships/relationships and what I really appreciated was the piece about knowing when to let certain friendships go。 *ARC copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* 。。。more

Mina M ，

I mean， I said I'd read Ciara Smyth's next book so of course I'm adding this to my tbr。 I'm a woman of my word。 Also， does this have the exact same amount of pages as The Falling in Love Montage？？ I mean， I said I'd read Ciara Smyth's next book so of course I'm adding this to my tbr。 I'm a woman of my word。 Also， does this have the exact same amount of pages as The Falling in Love Montage？？ 。。。more

BookishBrisa ，

I enjoyed Ciara Smyth's other novel The Falling in Love Montage so I was excited to read her new release， and wow， I flew through this book in just two days！ One of my favorite things about Smyth's books is that romance is not at the forefront of the story。 Family problems and family relationships are at the heart of the story， which I think adds so much depth to the characters。 I loved the two main characters and how their relationship progressed so naturally， I absolutely adored the side chara I enjoyed Ciara Smyth's other novel The Falling in Love Montage so I was excited to read her new release， and wow， I flew through this book in just two days！ One of my favorite things about Smyth's books is that romance is not at the forefront of the story。 Family problems and family relationships are at the heart of the story， which I think adds so much depth to the characters。 I loved the two main characters and how their relationship progressed so naturally， I absolutely adored the side characters （I'm officially leading the ProtectKaviSquad！！）， and the ending was perfectly done。ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Michaela ，

I received this e-arc in exchange for an honest review， thank you NetGalley and Andersen Press。Aideen has more than enough of problems of her own， but when she's talked into helping Meabh-who she generally cannot stand， she finds a way to distract herself-by fixing everyone else's problems and maybe even finding new love and friendships along the way。 This book was beautifully written with the perfect balance of sincerity and humour to deal with its subject matter in an approachable and engaging I received this e-arc in exchange for an honest review， thank you NetGalley and Andersen Press。Aideen has more than enough of problems of her own， but when she's talked into helping Meabh-who she generally cannot stand， she finds a way to distract herself-by fixing everyone else's problems and maybe even finding new love and friendships along the way。 This book was beautifully written with the perfect balance of sincerity and humour to deal with its subject matter in an approachable and engaging manner without diminishing the gravity of the issues at hand。 The story hooked me from the beginning-both with its engaging narrative voice and by starting in media res。 This book has a variety of well developed and nuanced characters， all with dynamic relationships with one another， but not only that- we also get to see them learn and grow throughout。 The ending was beautiful and satisfying， and truly showed the characters' development from the beginning。If you like heartwarming coming-of-age stories， strong female characters， queer representation （and a hint of Sex Education on Netflix vibes） you need to read this book， seriously。 。。。more

Samantha （WLABB） ，

Rating: 4。5 StarsWhile hiding from her own problems， Aideen accidentally became the go-to problem solver for her classmates。 Smyth delighted me with her debut， The Falling in Love Montage， and she delighted me even more with Not My Problem。 When I finished this book， my mind was bursting with all sorts of positive adjectives to describe my experience， and this book is one I will definitely be shouting about。 I was hooked into this story from page one。 I immediately loved Aideen， even if I wasn't Rating: 4。5 StarsWhile hiding from her own problems， Aideen accidentally became the go-to problem solver for her classmates。 Smyth delighted me with her debut， The Falling in Love Montage， and she delighted me even more with Not My Problem。 When I finished this book， my mind was bursting with all sorts of positive adjectives to describe my experience， and this book is one I will definitely be shouting about。 I was hooked into this story from page one。 I immediately loved Aideen， even if I wasn't supposed to。 It was easy to see that there was much more to her than met the eye。 Her attitude and disinterest were her armor。 She wore it to protect herself from feeling the full impact of her problems。 Due to her mother's alcoholism， Aideen dealt with constant worries related to paying bills， having food to eat， and her mother's well being。 But she still had the average teenage issues to contend with as well， such as her dismal grades and her struggling relationship with her best friend。 This could be a lot for one person to handle， which was why I was so excited when she starting the favor-for-a-favor arrangement。 Her role as problem solver helped her make new connections and lead to breaching the barriers Aideen had built to protect herself。 Aideen learning to trust others with her problems and allow them to share her load was a big part of her journey。 It happened slowly as she grew to fully realize that she was forming honest friendships with those she had been helping。 It was beautiful and touching， and I was really moved by the way Aideen's world grew and changed for the better。 I must admit， some of the most fun parts of this book were when they were "problem solving"。 The first assist Aideen offered was completely insane， and the capers that followed were even more elaborate and crazy fun。 I loved how with each new problem， her little community grew。 Aideen thought it was a quid-pro-quo sort of arrangement， but the bonds they formed were real。 The interactions with Maebh and Kavi were especially stellar， as were the moments Aideen shared with Ms。 Devlin （those excuse notes - 🤣）。Not My Problem was a complete package for me。 Great characters， a touching story， humor， wit， and lots of heart。 It was so satisfying to see Aideen stop hiding her troubles， open herself up to others， and accept their support。 *ARC provided in exchange for an honest review。 BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS 。。。more

Emily ，

Not My Problem was my first read from Ciara Smyth， and I enjoyed it！ The story was very cute， and it reminded me a bit of Charlie Bartlett。 I could see this becoming a comfort read for me。 I liked seeing the new relationships that formed when Aideen began helping people - both romantic and friendships。 I also liked the element of old friends growing apart， and dealing with that while making new friends。 This is a good book to pick up this summer！ Not My Problem will be out on 5/25。CW - parental Not My Problem was my first read from Ciara Smyth， and I enjoyed it！ The story was very cute， and it reminded me a bit of Charlie Bartlett。 I could see this becoming a comfort read for me。 I liked seeing the new relationships that formed when Aideen began helping people - both romantic and friendships。 I also liked the element of old friends growing apart， and dealing with that while making new friends。 This is a good book to pick up this summer！ Not My Problem will be out on 5/25。CW - parental neglect， addiction 。。。more

Sorrel ，

I loved this！ I went in with high expectations because of how much I loved The Falling In Love Montage， and yet Not My Problem surpassed them all。 While it's true that I'm a total sucker for almost any sapphic romance with snappy banter， Not My Problem also resonated with me beyond the adorable slow-burn。 The way that both Meabh and Aideen's very different struggles were both treated with compassion and understanding was really lovely to see， and I also felt that it was one of the most true to l I loved this！ I went in with high expectations because of how much I loved The Falling In Love Montage， and yet Not My Problem surpassed them all。 While it's true that I'm a total sucker for almost any sapphic romance with snappy banter， Not My Problem also resonated with me beyond the adorable slow-burn。 The way that both Meabh and Aideen's very different struggles were both treated with compassion and understanding was really lovely to see， and I also felt that it was one of the most true to life representations of interactions between teenagers that I've seen in contemporary young adult romance。 None of the characters were reduced to stock teen movie archetypes just for plot convenience。 Instead， they were allowed to be flawed and complex， even the ones who had only good intentions， which was really refreshing。Also， I have a massive crush on Meabh， but that's beside the point。 。。。more

Asiel ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 *** Thank you HarperTeen and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for honest review。 ***Not My problem is a great book; it brought me back to the school days when I was a teenager。 I found myself smiling while reading about Aideen’s journey。 She is funny， caring， and lovable。 However， her story with her mother broke my heart。 And even though I loved all the characters in the book， I didn’t like her mother。“Will there be drinking and drugs and sex at this party？” Mam asked。I was surprised *** Thank you HarperTeen and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for honest review。 ***Not My problem is a great book; it brought me back to the school days when I was a teenager。 I found myself smiling while reading about Aideen’s journey。 She is funny， caring， and lovable。 However， her story with her mother broke my heart。 And even though I loved all the characters in the book， I didn’t like her mother。“Will there be drinking and drugs and sex at this party？” Mam asked。I was surprised， like Aideen， that her mother bothered to ask her about the party after what Aideen went through before this question。 When Aideen’s father came to the house， Aideen was so upset with him， and she went to spend the night with Holly， her best friend。 Aideen’s mom didn’t call to check on her sixteen-year-old girl。The very next day， Aideen came home after school and her mom wasn’t there; there was no food in the house and her mom took all of Aideen’s savings and left her with nothing。 Aideen tried to call her mom， but she didn’t answer。 She went out looking for her mom in a nearby bar， and she wasn’t there either。（It was like someone hollowed out my inside。 ）This was heartbreaking for me; I nearly cried for this child。 Aideen had to walk to a nearby church to ask for some food。 The way Ms。 Smyth described Aideen’s feelings at that moment was brilliant。 I could feel Aideen’s pain completely。 Now let’s talk about the other characters。 They were real and complex。 I liked Kavi; the way he talked was irritating but funny。 I wondered sometimes if he ever stopped to take a breath while talking without stopping！Meabh was something else。I didn’t like her at first。 I thought she would be another version of Tracy from Election Movie （while I thought Reese Witherspoon was brilliant in this movie， I hated Tracy） so I， subconsciously， thought that Meabh would be a copy of Tracy。 She wasn’t， and that was a good surprise。 I really liked her， and I liked the romance between her and Aideen （the romance wasn’t central to the plot and it came very late， but it was a good romance）Overall， the book was funny， easy to read， and enjoyable。 Ms。 Smyth talked about important subjects like child caring for an adult， child abuse， and alcohol abuse all together with mentioning Aideen’s struggling in school and friendship between the characters。 I highly recommend this book to adults before teenagers。 。。。more

Kate （GirlReading） ，

Im going to be honest， I was about five pages into this book when I knew it was going to be a five star read。 It’s rare for me to audibly laugh at a book but I was giggling to myself within a matter of pages。 This book was hilarious， whilst at the same time being full of so much heart， soul and pain。 I truly couldn’t put it down。 I utterly devoured this book。The slow burn rivals-to-lovers romance was everything and the chemistry was f-a-b。 The friendship dynamics， both old and new， were wonderfu Im going to be honest， I was about five pages into this book when I knew it was going to be a five star read。 It’s rare for me to audibly laugh at a book but I was giggling to myself within a matter of pages。 This book was hilarious， whilst at the same time being full of so much heart， soul and pain。 I truly couldn’t put it down。 I utterly devoured this book。The slow burn rivals-to-lovers romance was everything and the chemistry was f-a-b。 The friendship dynamics， both old and new， were wonderfully explored。 The characters were all fully fleshed out and engaging in their own right and the multiple strains of character development were a+。Aideen might be one of favourite voices in YA。 She was quick， witty， gutsy， loving， proud， angry and scared。 She felt incredibly authentic and watching her hard exterior slowly melt away， whilst not for one second leaving behind her snappy sense of humour， was a delight。 I was invested in her life， story， relationships and story from page one and that investment didn’t waver for a single sentence。 I’m truly in awe of Ciara’s talent for creating characters who truly leap of the page and stories you can’t get enough of。 She is such a positive， strong voice in YA and I can’t wait to keep reading whatever she writes next。 I’m not going to stop pushing this book into everyone and anyone。 Seriously。 This is undoubtedly one of my favourite books I’ve read so far this year。 It made my heart happy for so many reasons。 If you’re looking for a book that will play with you heart and have you laughing out loud， whilst wanting to shout ‘JUST KISS ALREADY’ （although， if like me， you’re all for the slow burn this book is truly a gift for us all）， this is the book for you。 TW: alcoholism， parental neglect， bullying， toxic friendships 。。。more

Gayatri ，

The amount of time I visit this page as if magically the book will release early or something！！！！！！！ I need this book in my life right now！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！Finally I am reading！！！！！！！！！

Trigger Warning Database ，

Trigger & Content Warnings:CheatingParent with alcoholismBullying

Luna ，

4/5 starsTWs: alcohol abuse/addiction， child neglect， child caring for adultthere might be more I didn’t pick up on。This book hit close to home in far too many ways that I needed to take a step back for a few days to reflect before I could give my feelings。 This book perfectly encapsulates the life of someone on the edge of disaster and I appreciate that kind of representation in books。 I loved the found family aspects of this book to pieces。 It was funny， clever， had amazing characters and I LO 4/5 starsTWs: alcohol abuse/addiction， child neglect， child caring for adultthere might be more I didn’t pick up on。This book hit close to home in far too many ways that I needed to take a step back for a few days to reflect before I could give my feelings。 This book perfectly encapsulates the life of someone on the edge of disaster and I appreciate that kind of representation in books。 I loved the found family aspects of this book to pieces。 It was funny， clever， had amazing characters and I LOVED Aideen， her journey， and her romance。 However， I do wish it had one more chapter to wrap everything up more with the mother subplot。 Seeing more of Aideen opening up and being comfortable with her friends would have been nice for me as a reader to know she's going to be okay。 。 Overall a fun read I could not put down and truly connected to。Thank you NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Catherine ，

I loved this book。 A lot。 First of all， I am so thankful for Netgalley letting me read the ARC， and when this book releases on March 25th I expect each and every person who reads this review to go purchase it。 The only reason why this is 4。5/5 stars instead of five stars is because， while I love a good slowburn romance， this one was very， very slow。 But the plot was strong enough that it was enjoyable regardless。 Once I got into this book I could not put it down and I found myself up at 2am stra I loved this book。 A lot。 First of all， I am so thankful for Netgalley letting me read the ARC， and when this book releases on March 25th I expect each and every person who reads this review to go purchase it。 The only reason why this is 4。5/5 stars instead of five stars is because， while I love a good slowburn romance， this one was very， very slow。 But the plot was strong enough that it was enjoyable regardless。 Once I got into this book I could not put it down and I found myself up at 2am straining my eyes to read it。 The pacing was incredibly fast and the plot was well thought out and suspenseful。 I loved all of the mischief that the characters got into helping Aideen complete favors， and each of these favors were unique and not repetitive。 As someone who typically reads fantasy and adventure for the adrenaline rush， I found my heart beating incredibly fast during some of the more suspenseful scenes。 I found myself falling in love with each and every one of the characters， especially Aideen， Meabh， and Kavi。 Each of the characters felt like real， complex people who have many conflicts。 They were incredibly well developed。 The book， while lighthearted and hilarious， also dealt with many serious topics such as alcohol addiction， bullying， class differences， and friendships。 The way that the author wrote the difficulty of letting go of an old friendship despite knowing the toxicity of it was incredibly well done and I could see my own experiences within that conflict。 Kavi， Aideen， and Meabh have what must be my new favorite fictional friendship。 Every time they had a scene together， I found myself beaming and trying to savor the rest of that scene until it ended。 I loved how this book has a wlw romance， but it wasn't focused on coming out。 It was just two girls who liked each other， but didn't really know how to navigate their feelings。 Some tropes to convince you to read the book: rivals （sort of， more like my best friend hates you） to friends to lovers and found family （a "rag-tag" group of teens getting into trouble。 I loved it）。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Not My Problem

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Not My Problem&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Not My Problem&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0