The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting

Bree's life doesn't look so bad from the outside: she lives in a big house, her parents love her in their own way, she's smart, has written two novels (unpublished, but written at least!) and she couldn't ask for a better friend than Holdo. But on the inside things are different: her home is alienating, her dad is never home, her mum's only interested in being a yummy mummy, the rejection letters from publishers get her down, and above all, she's not interesting or popular. But she is determined, and sets out a plan to become interesting, popular, and to upset the existing hierarchy in her school.

Holly Bourne has written an intriguing and well-written YA novel that keeps you turning the pages and is a meaner Mean Girls of sorts. Bree is a likeable but at times frustrating character who constantly assesses her situation and questions her own and others' actions. The book does deal with serious issues, from self-harm, mental health, sex (not always consensual), drinking, and inappropriate relationships of the teacher-student kind and is not suitable for younger reader.