So my stop on the Bad Habits blog tour was actually a few days ago, but I am so behind on blogging that I completely forgot to post this on time! Hopefully you'll still enjoy this review, even though it's late.
Fed up of her patriarchal Catholic boarding school Alex is desperate to get kicked out and return to California and life without nuns and curfews. But with her dad's money and influence keeping her in school no matter what she tries, she knows she's going to have to pull out all the stops in order to leave for good.
Intent on causing chaos, Alex sets out to put on St Mary's first ever performance of The Vagina Monologues. But with even her best friend unable to say the word "vagina" out loud, and a school where life revolves around the whims of the hockey team, the production, and her hopes for expulsion may prove even more difficult than she expects.
Bad Habits is a fun, fast contemporary YA novel which explores privilege, friendship and sexism. The characters are great. Alex in particular is full of relatable flaws, so tunnel-visioned on her ideas about feminism that she forgets there is more than one way to be a feminist, and that just because you don't agree with someone's choices, doesn't mean they are less valid than yours. She shows a lot of growth over the course of the novel. Her self confidence and ability to stick up for herself (and those she cares about) was also really refreshing, as I tend to read a lot of contemporary YA with awkward, self-conscious protagonists!
This story had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions as Alex tries to stage her performance despite ever-mounting obstacles. Her best friend Mary Kate's attempts to walk around the lake are equal parts hilarious and excruciating.
I really enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it.