Bad Habits

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 . . .

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Lots of laughs with a flippant, sarcastic narrator
• Discussions about body positivity and body awareness
• Relatable teen struggles that most of us have been through
• Burning down the patriarchy … sort of … almost literally?
• A quirky cast of characters with different beliefs who have to learn how to work together and coexist
• People randomly shouting vagina because they can

Many thanks to Penguin and TheWriteReads for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour.

Not gonna lie, I saw that this was pushed as a feminist novel, and I was very turned off. I have been burned before, okay? BURNED! Do you hear me?! Also, I don’t hate all men, nor do I think all men are bad, and I am very turned off by books that imply that. So you maybe see my struggles? WORRY NOT, FELLOW READERS. This is not that book, and I absolutely loved the feminism and how it unfolds.

Bad Habits is feminist at its truest: not only struggles for body positivity, but with a hard-won lesson about what feminism really means. It’s funny and sarcastic, with a cast of characters that are sure to entertain!

I’m actually super surprised by just how much I freaking loved this! I went in with definite reservations, but by the time I finished the first chapter, I knew it was going to be a good match. I couldn’t get enough of this book, and I was sad to see it end because it was just so freaking good. I will for sure be keeping an eye out for more from this author.

The narrative voice of this book is laugh-out-loud funny and kept catching me off-guard at such unexpected times.

If you enjoy sarcastic, irreverent characters, Alex is a surefire winner. At one point, I compared her humor to my husband’s (the quote below, actually, if you’re curious), and I made him read it, and even he laughed. He doesn’t usually laugh at books! What devilry is this?!

While Alex is very obviously a teenager, I think her voice is one that’s easily relatable. Maybe you aren’t as edgy or vocal or confident as her (I for sure am absolutely none of those things). However, a lot of what she struggles with, underneath all the jokes and humor, are things a lot of people struggle with: a distant father she’s sure doesn’t understand her, a narcissistic mother who’s completely out of touch with her daughter, a place she doesn’t feel like she actually belongs in, not knowing where she actually wants to belong. Then, on top of that, add that to all the struggles that come with being a woman and having to deal with people who get weirded out by tampons—even just the mention of them, let alone the act of buying them.

While this book is undoubtedly hilarious, it plays a trick on the reader. It convinces them that they’re reading a light, flippant novel when, in fact, it delivers some pretty hard-hitting life advice.

Like it’s perfectly okay to say “vagina” to a nun if everyone in the room has one. Wait, maybe not that one (although I’m certainly okay with it). How about like the fact that even in a Catholic school, having conversations about women’s bodies, especially in regards to their health and safety, is crucial. The humor in the voice does a really good job of highlighting the deeper, heavier topics without having them bog down the narrative.

A Catholic school may seem like an odd setting for this sort of book, but it was absolutely perfect, and I loved every bit of it.

Let’s be honest, Alex and her struggle wouldn’t be nearly as edgy in any other setting, of course. Her plight wouldn’t seem so ridiculous or doomed to fail, nor would it seem nearly as important—two things that paired together so brilliantly.

When people tend to think of Catholic schools, they tend to think of conservative anti-sex, anti-feminist institutions, but if there’s anything to take away from this book, it’s really about compromise and not falling for snap judgments.

St. Mary’s would definitely be deemed more conservative and certainly not the place to hold The Vagina Monologues. However, as the book gets going, the reader may just find that everything at St. Mary’s isn’t quite as it seems. I loved the depth of the setting and the challenge to the stereotype about religious schools. It challenges the reader to stop and question their own biases and assumptions, just as Alex is forced to.

This is feminism in the truest form of the word, and Alex has to find that out the hard way.

You would think that feminism at a Catholic school is a good thing, right? Tampons for everyone, no shame attached. Run through the school and shout vagina if you so desire. Teach women that sex isn’t always bad and being a woman isn’t simply a necessary evil. But wait! There’s more!

Alex gets so caught up in her own brand and flavor of feminism that she forgets that feminism itself is about choice and that someone else may not make the same choices she would.

It’s easy to be so caught up in your own beliefs and ideals that you forget that giving someone a choice means that you may disagree with their choice, but ultimately, it’s theirs to make. Men and women. Because yes, even the boys get rolled up a bit in the feminism in this book, and I love it! Ultimately, the feminism takes some surprising forms that I wasn’t at all expecting, but you’ll just have to discover that for yourselves.

The characters in this are so easy to love, and they each brought something interesting to the table!

This book is a little of everything. It’s about friendship bonds, self-discovery, coming of age, a teensy bit of romance, and a whole lot of growing up and growing into one’s self.

So there’s Alex, obviously, who’s sure she has everything figured out because she’s super progressive and feminist and loud and boisterous and unafraid to stand up to the “patriarchy” and the things keeping people down. Which may be a teensy bit at odd to the people around her, like her roommate and best friend, Mary Kate, who at first comes across as very reserved and quiet and the antithesis of Alex. But who is also very much determined to get a boyfriend.

Then there’s Pat, the testosterone-laden jock type that Alex would typically roll her eyes at and hate … but he’s also kind of pretty cool. And into drama. Who would’ve guessed? I absolutely loved getting to know Pat and his ability to keep up with Alex and compromise (a skill Alex herself doesn’t willingly possess).

I suspect even the staff at the school will surprise you when you get to know them!

Other reviews:

• The Quick and the Read
• Kerri McBookNerd
• Read to Ramble

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