Bad Habits by Flynn Meaney- The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour

Hilarious, bold, sparky and surprising, this is the funniest feminist book you’ll read all year.

Alex is a rebel from the tip of her purple fauxhawk to the toes of her biker boots. She’s tried everything she can think of to get expelled from her strict Catholic boarding school. Nothing has worked so far – but now, Alex has a new plan.

Tired of the sexism she sees in every corner of St Mary’s, Alex decides to stage the school’s first ever production of The Vagina Monologues. Which is going to be a challenge, as no one else at St Mary’s can even bear to say the word ‘vagina’ out loud . . . (taken from Goodreads)

Thank you to The Write Reads for allowing me to join the book tour for Bad Habits! This book is available now.

Full of wit and snark, this is a fun one for readers who like a little sass with a hint of rebellion. I do feel that it would be more appreciated by teenagers, who might be better able to…not relate, per say, but commiserate.

Bad Habits follows Alex, a rebellious teen in a far-from-envelope-pushing Catholic boarding school. In this rigid and conservative setting, Alex sticks out like a sore thumb. I felt sorry about her situation: it’s hard to feel like a square peg in a round hole, so to speak. I felt for her, but I truly did not like her. I felt that she was pretty darn judgmental and really kind of condescending toward the other girls. I think part of the reason she had such a prickly demeanor had to do with feeling let down by her parents. She made for an interesting protagonist, though.

This book is billed as being feminist but I personally saw it more as a coming-of-age tale. I liked Alex’s interaction with her friend Mary Kate, which highlighted that a bit. Mary Kate is Alex’s opposite in almost every way, but she called Alex out on her rather narrow view of feminism, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Alex or cause her pause at all.

The book had a snarky bite to it that many readers will enjoy. While this wasn’t necessarily the book for me, it was well written and I think a large amount of people will really enjoy it.