I absolutely loved this book - it's impossible to put down. The main character is a hoot and her story just makes her all the more loveable. The people she collects along the way just make you wish you knew them in real life and that they were your friends, even though that makes me a bit sad and creepy to say that since I'm a 34 year old and they're at school... A wonderful book with great representation and perfect for pride month but indeed all the months. I can't recommend it enough.

Whilst this book tackles some pretty serious subjects for all characters involved it does so with a humour and grace rarely seen in YA. Whilst there is some romance it doesn't form the basis of the story which is also refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and devoured it in a day. I would love to see a sequel so I can spend more time with Aideen and her friends.

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.

Aideen has problems at home. Poverty and dysfunction sit side by side with love and the two warring factions can pull her apart. That's before you factor in school where Aideen hides her home situation and her inability to understand what's going on in lessons behind a chippy exterior. Everything changes when Aideen comes across school swot, Maebh Kowalska attempting to ruin her life to buy herself some time. Aideen hates Maebh but is intrigued enough by her dilemma to agree to help her, whereupon Aideen gets herself the reputation as the school fixer. But who will help fix Aideen? This is darkly funny and so well written. Sharp writing and a streak of compassion a mile wide make this the perfect funny/sad combination. Great dialogue and believable characters pair with a knife sharp sense of timing that keeps you turning the pages. This is so good.

Where do I start with this book… I absolutely adored it! This was my first venture into the work of Ciara Smyth and it certainly won’t be the last! Not My Problem was a fun and intriguing YA contemporary that oozed comfort and joy, and wonderfully captured the character’s coming of age. Smyth expertly portrays the realities of poverty, alcoholism and human relationships through the characters in this story which further emphasised their realism ensuring my attention was well and truly gripped from beginning to end, What was truly sublime about this story though is the wonderful characters created by Smyth, any one of whom I could have gone to school with myself. Aideen was a brilliant lead that you couldn’t help but root for. She felt very authentic for a teenager and I really enjoyed watching her relationships develop with those around her. Accompanying Aideen was a stellar supporting cast who were all just fabulous (including Meabh, Kavi and Ms Devlin to name but a few…) On surface level this might look like a typical high school coming of age story revolving around a cast of misfits learning to navigate their developing lives and to an extent you would be correct, but its so much more than that also. Not My Problem is a diverse and accurate portrayal of youth today that is bound to capture your attention (and heart) from beginning to end. I utterly adored this book and can’t recommend it higher.