Book Summary and Reviews of Not About a Boy by Myah Hollis

Not About a Boy by Myah Hollis

Not About a Boy

by Myah Hollis

  • Critics' Consensus (8):
  • Published:
  • Jul 2024, 336 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Euphoria meets Girl in Pieces in this coming-of-age story of a girl trying to put a grief-stricken past behind her, only to be startled by the discovery of a long-lost sister who puts into question everything she thought she knew.

Amélie Cœur has never known what it truly means to be happy.

She thought she'd found happiness once, in a love that ended in tragedy and nearly sent her over the edge. Now, at seventeen, Mel is beginning to piece her life back together. Under the supervision of Laurelle Child Services, the exclusive foster care agency that raised her, Mel is sober and living with a new family among Manhattan's elite. It's her last chance at adoption before she ages out of the system, and she promised, this time, she'll try.

But a casual relationship with a boy is turning into something she never intended for it to be, causing small cracks in her carefully constructed walls. Then the sister she has no memory of contacts Mel, unearthing complicated feelings about the past and what could have been.

As the anniversary of the worst day of her life approaches, Mel must weather the rising tides of grief and depression before she loses herself, and those close to her, all over again. 

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"This debut is a gritty teen drama full of mature themes that unfurl in compassionate ways and will resonate with many readers... Heartbreaking and powerful." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Though the large cast and their relationship dynamics can be difficult to follow, the slowly unfolding narrative presents a compelling look at Mel's past, her endeavors to manage her mental health, and her journey toward wholeness and belonging." —Publishers Weekly

"Not About a Boy feels like a good cry with your best friend. Heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful, Myah Hollis's writing is a breath of fresh air in the YA space." —Elise Bryant, author of Happily Ever Afters

"Myah Hollis is a superb new talent who captures Amélie's story with honesty, wit, and heartrending prose. Not About A Boy explores overcoming our inner and outer demons with precise finesse, Hollis's pen as sharp as an exacto knife. This book will live in your bones as an unforgettable masterclass on the teen mind, mental health, and found family. Hollis is a talent for the ages." —Lane Clarke, author of Love Times Infinity

"Beautiful, raw, poignant. Not About a Boy is a searing debut full of humor, heart, and the expansive range of emotions that rage within us all. Read this book to remember why feelings come first. Myah Hollis is a breath of fresh air." —Danielle Parker, author of You Bet Your Heart

This information about Not About a Boy was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Myah Hollis

Myah Hollis is a Pennsylvanian writer living in Los Angeles. She specializes in Sad Girl Lit, mainly due to her chronic fascination with psychology. Not About a Boy is her debut novel.

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