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WHSmith Zoella & Friends Book Club: Review (Books 1-4)


I have been loving the Zoella Book Club with WHSmith since it started last year. 

 I was actively involved with the first round of the book club last summer and then WHSmith kindly sent me the entire book bundle for round two in October. Round one had us discussing each book in turn, via WHSmith's Twitter account, and round two gave me the chance to interview the authors, also via Twitter.

 You can see my various blog posts and videos for the first two rounds of the book club here:

 Zoella Book Club (Summer 2016 - Round One):


 Zoella Book Club (Autumn 2016 - Round Two):



 Zoella & Friends Book Club (Summer 2017 - Round Three):

  • Unboxing (video)
  • Review (video - coming soon)

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I read the first four books in the order of the book club:
(You can buy the complete eight-book bundle here)

 Remember, you can only get these exclusive book club covers at WHSmith.
So let's get started with the reviews!

 Before continuing, please be aware that there are some spoilers ahead.


Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

 Well, if this book doesn't get the feminist in your all fired up then I don't know what will! I haven't read a book this powerful in a while and I kind of wish I'd had this when I was in high school. The first thing I thought when I finished this book was "Every high school girl should read this".

 Vivian starts a feminist zine and places them around the school in the hope that it will bring certain matters to attention. The zine was a great addition to the book and I love how you get to see exactly what they look like as pictures in the book, rather than just having them described.

 I loved how the feminist stands started small, with drawing hearts and stars on their hands, and got bigger and bigger, with fundraisers and walk outs. Some of the things that the female students in this book experience were more severe than anything I saw as a teenager in school, but some - like the boys comments ("Nice legs, when do they open") and the bump 'n' grab - were similar to things I witnessed. The main thing I related to from my school days was the uniform checks.

 Some of my favourite scenes in this book were between Viv and Seth, and I loved the beach scene and the kiss. However, I loved this book even more because the focus was on the relationship between girls and focused a lot more on friendship. I liked that the words "I love you" were said between friends rather than being used romantically. It shows just how much this book focuses on girls coming together than girls having boyfriends.

I'd rate Moxie as:

I didn't think I'd love this book as much as I actually did. Some YA can be a little young for me, but I'm so glad to be proved wrong with this one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would definitely class myself as a Moxie girl now. I'd recommend this book to girls who are about to start high school or are in high school and college now. I gained so much from reading this book and I can't recommend it enough.

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The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

 First of all, how beautiful is this cover? I'm in love. The moment I finished reading the description of this book, I had a feeling this would be the one for me. I enjoy a wider variety of books now but this is the kind of book I usually go for - especially in the summertime.

 Paige's boyfriend dies in a swimming accident and she makes a list of things she wants to try and do to help her move past this tragedy. While she's trying to make changes, like joining the QuizBowl team and looking to date again, other things are going on in her life that could set her back, such as her parents situation and her Grandma's illness.

 There were so many scenes in this book that I loved. The memory Paige has of Ryan dancing with his sister in the cereal aisle made me tear up and I liked every scene with Max in. Max and Paige sharing secrets in the car was probably my favourite moment and the party with the seven minutes in heaven. I've never wanted to scream at two characters more than at that very moment.

 Most importantly, that ending! That last chapter I was smiling like a complete idiot and almost cheered when she ran after him. It was the perfect moment and I can't remember the last time a romantic moment like that made me feel so warm and fuzzy. It was just ideal. Then there were the emails at the end of the book that give you just a little bit more of the relationship.

I'd rate The Start of Me and You as:

When writing this, I've read five books from this book club and this is definitely my favourite so far. A friend of mine, who has also been taking part in the book club, has also said that is is her favourite too. It's just so easy to read and so much happens, to make you smile and get a bit teary, but I adored it and I know that I'll definitely reread this at some point. Also, I want to see this book as a film. I need it!

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Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

 This book is very short at only 183 pages and I read the whole thing in one sitting in two hours. It was just such a simple, easy book to read and before I knew it I was done.

 Jack lives on a farm and one day his parents taken in a young boy called Joseph. Joseph is only fourteen when he becomes a father and it seems that everyone in the area knows this, including the bus driver and the teachers. Some of them are really rude to him and treat him like a criminal, others try and give him a chance. You really get to see different kinds of people in this book and how they deal with Joseph's situation. Some of the things he has to deal with are really hard to read at times, he goes through so much.

 I wasn't sure about the writing style at first because a lot of the sentences are very short and can get a little repetitive.Then I thought about how it's being narrated by Jack, who is only twelve years old, and that the voice was exactly as a young child would speak and it was very believable.

 Genuinely, all Joseph wants is to see his daughter. When you finally get to the part where he tells the story of his little girl, Jupiter, and how everything happened, I was in bits. I continued to read with tears streaming down my face because it was such a beautiful, moving story. My heart was breaking, especially when he tells the story of his first love and his daughter, when his father comes to take Joseph away near the end of the book and that final chapter. I had to take a short break from reading after finishing this one.


I'd rate Orbiting Jupiter as:
For such a tragic, moving story that wouldn't be my usual choice, I loved it. Like I said before, I had a few issues with the narrative voice first of all, with the repetitiveness and simplicity of it, but it was done like that with good reason and I'm glad it was written this way. I would love to read more and find out more about baby Jupiter, maybe as a second book, but I don't know if that would ever happen.  It was a heartbreaking young love story that will stay with me forever.

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History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

 I'd already read this book, around Easter time, but I decided to reread it so that it was fresh in my mind to talk about it and review it.

 Griffin's first love, Theo, drowned and he is trying to deal with his grief. There is a process to dealing with his loss and part of that involves Theo's new boyfriend, Jackson. This book jumps back and forward between the present (today) and the past (history), which I really liked. When you have a book going over two different periods of time it's nice to have them broken up every other chapter.

 Griffin also struggles with OCD, which only adds to the difficult time that he's going through. Jackson and Griffin's relationship is tense at first but they both have each other to lean on as they deal with their grief. It's also difficult for Griffin to come to terms with Theo's death because he feels responsible for him dying. When the story is told of how he died you can see why he feels some responsibility towards Theo's accident, that that's exactly what it was - an accident.

 The storyline is devastating and hard to read at times but it's a truly stunning story, even if it is heartbreaking. The whole last chapter is probably my favourite, especially the last line because it ends with a question. It's some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read.


I'd rate History is All You Left Me as:

When I read this back in April I actually rated it as four stars, but after reading it again I realised just how special this book is and upped my rating to five stars. This story is just so unique and incredibly touching. It's definitely one that I'd recommend you read, even if it's not the type of book you would usually go for. It's just made me even more excited to read other books by Adam Silvera, especially the new one coming out next month.

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I'll be posting part two of these reviews for books 5-8 in book club soon, so keep an eye out for that post if you want to see what I thought of the other four books.

I'll also have a video going up on my YouTube channel where I'll be discussing the books and telling you which one was my favourite, after I've read them all. Until then, you can watch my previous videos here.

I'd love to hear your views and know what your favourite book is so far! You can comment below, find me on Instagram or join the chat on Twitter.


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