Editing Emma: Online you can choose who you want to be. If only real life were so easy...

A book about a girl blogging about her life, discussing issues like periods, boys and booze like they shouldn’t even be ‘issues’ to talk about? I’d been hoping for a really long time for Editing Emma to be released in India and when I got the opportunity to read and review it for Harper Collins India, I was BEYOND overjoyed! I finished Editing Emma in a mere two days (or should I say very busy evenings) and while at times, the book frustrated me, I did really like going on this journey with Emma through her blog posts. Here are my thoughts: 1. After reading this book from end to end, I can HONESTLY say teenage girls are confusing and I AM A TEENAGE GIRL, so you could tell how confusing it was for me. I really liked Emma – she was honest and spunky and slightly irritating and I spent 330 pages immersed in her innermost thoughts and I came out of them confused. 2. In fact, even the boys confused me. (WAIT: IF I DON’T GET TEENAGERS, DOES IT MEAN I’VE GROWN PAST TEENAGER-DOM?) They were cute and charming and nice until they were needy and rude and GHOSTED GIRLS FOR NO REASON? 3. I actually think all the confusion that I’m talking about above just goes to show HOW ACCUTARELY the life of a high-schooler was portrayed. It felt real and it also annoyed me, and I laughed and felt for the characters. ESSENTIALLY, THIS BOOK CAPTURED EVERYTHING YOU FEEL AS A TEENAGER. 4. I REALLY like that this was told through blog posts. Essentially it was The Princess Diaries, but in the form of a blog and not a diary. 5. Emma’s sense of humour and sarcasm levels were OFF THE CHARTS, which was what made this book funny. There are resolutions and lists and awkward first text-versations with boys and also not to mention, a beheaded stuffed giraffe. I loved the hilarity of her life and her spin on it. 6. This book was about growing up and learning to love yourself in a world where nobody will let you. It was about finding your corner and your people and what’s important and it was done through a teenager which I TRULY applaud. An honest, unflinching and hilarious (if at times eye-roll worthy) coming of age book that should be added to the top of your ever growing TBRs. 4 stars and definitely worth a read!

This novel was a continuous laugh-out-loud kind of adventure, as we see Emma try to reinvent herself, online, after a break-up. Her attempts to find a new boyfriend to get over her old one fail spectacularly, as she tries to widen her social and dating field. She resorts to lying about her age, dabbles in awkward texting, gets catfished by a 13 year old, and ghosts the one guy who likes her because she is still not over her ex, whom she encounters daily in school. Her narration is chiefly via private blog posts (much like a diary, and is sex-positive), and occasional tweets. Emma is alternatively naive and enlightened, and Seager nails her teen voice perfectly, bringing out all the insecurities of being at that age, feeling rejected but also being a little dramatic about it. You simultaneously want to hug her, but also watch the train-wreck with secondhand embarrassment while whispering ‘Emma NO!’. Her relationship with her mom, and her friends (who also have their own romantic woes) are rendered well, and the witty dialogue keeps you entertained even if the plot overall can be a bit predictable. Definitely was the highlight on a sick day; I almost forgot I was suffering in bed.