Not About a Boy

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 27 ratings

Price: 18.89

Last update: 01-25-2025


About this item

"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)

"Lucid and luminous."—ALA Booklist

"Hollis’s powerful and compassionate debut novel is an intimate and nuanced portrayal of a resilient and troubled young woman’s journey toward self-acceptance...An emotionally rich and complex coming-of-age story. Amélie is a well-written character teenagers will understand and will want to root for."—School Library Journal (starred review)

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.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Books and Kittens
    5.0 out of 5 stars Have tissues ready
    Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2024
    This is one of those books that pierces the soul. Hollis is going to devastate you, but you’ll be laughing while she does it. NOT ABOUT A BOY is a raw, relatable and real look at a girl on the edge. It's truly YA at its finest and let me restate, Amélie’s journey and emotional arc are NOT ABOUT A BOY! This is a book young girls need to read. Highly recommend!
  • Tori H.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully and Devastatingly Written
    Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2024
    When I was 19, I went through a breakup that nearly destroyed me. I stopped eating, I stopped engaging, I was so sad all the time that even just going through the motions was more energy than I could muster. The thing was, it wasn’t about my breakup, not really. That was just the final straw, the catalyst of dealing with all the emotions and thoughts that had always been present. It was this moment that forced me to deal with everything I felt, to know that change was necessary, to acknowledge those thoughts and to learn how to manage them.

    In Not About a Boy, Hollis pulls back the curtain on all those thoughts and raw emotions. Because it’s “not about a boy.” It’s about being okay existing, about feeling right in your own skin, about being willing to try knowing failure is an option.

    This story was so beautifully and devastatingly written. There’s experiences everyone can relate to and some that will resonate with only a select few. I wish I’d had stories like this during that time in my life, so I could know I was not alone, and I hope it finds the readers who need to hear that everything will be okay.

    Thank you to Myah Hollis for putting words to all those nameless feelings and emotions. For sharing Mel’s story with all of us. I cannot recommend this remarkable debut enough!

    Thank you to Myah Hollis, Netgalley and Harper Teen for the e-arc.
  • OoohGoshTara
    4.0 out of 5 stars This is a powerful heart-wrenching coming of age story.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2024
    This is a powerful heart-wrenching coming of age story that really draws you in. Melie is a teenager who has grown up in the foster care system. She’s bounced from family to family since she was a too young to remember. Now at seventeen she is on the verge of being adopted. But she’s lonely, lost, floundering. A stranger to herself and in her own life. She’s also grieving the death of a dear friend. Melie is trying to fit in and be who everyone wants her to be her new friends, her old friends, her new foster parents, her social worker, her therapists and who she herself wants to be. She wants to be accepted and understood but Melie is stuck in a vicious cycle of self-harm and throw in a long-lost twin sister she can’t even remember and Melie is spiraling. I was rooting for Melie. I was so stressed because I could see Melie deteriorating and knew that a crash and burn was inevitable. Melie had to go through it to get through it. I don’t agree with Richards and everyone else separating Melie and Bre. That was so wrong. Loved that there were chapter titles and the vivid writing. TW: substance abuse, depression, mental health, foster care, death, grief, trauma.
  • Kaira Bradley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2024
    This book captivated me from the beginning to the end. The author's attention to detail in developing each character made the story truly come alive. I saw shades of myself and my friends in every character, making the book deeply relatable. It has definitely earned a place among my all-time favorite reads!!
  • Lee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
    Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2024
    Excellent coming-of-age book about Melie trying to cope with a loss, a boyfriend she keeps at a distance, and aging out of the foster care system soon. When she finds out she has an identical twin sister it’s too much for her, and Melie starts spiraling taking drugs again and keeping everyone away. When she goes to a treatment center, she wonders if she will ever find a way to be herself. Does she even want to?

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