Not My Problem
Series: None
Author: Ciara Smyth
Published June 3rd 2021 by Andersen Press

Goodreads Synopsis
Aideen can fix anyone's problem - just not her own

When Aideen agrees to help ambitious class swot Maebh Kowalska deal with her crazy workload, she doesn’t expect to end up reluctantly pushing Maebh down the stairs. With this, Aideen becomes the school ‘fixer’: any problem a student has, Aideen will sort it out, from stealing confiscated mobiles to breaking into parties. All she asks for is a favour in return. But Aideen’s own life is a mess – her mam’s drinking again, her BFF Holly is avoiding her and she’s skipping school. Spending more time with the uptight (but annoyingly cute) Maebh and chatterbox Kavi, Aideen starts to wonder: can every problem be solved?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

For Aideen Cleary, school is really for her. Her home life is a mess, and she's barely making it through her transition year, so when the class swot, and her nemesis, Maebh Kowalska, asks for her help, which includes pushing her down the stairs, she doesn't expect to become the school 'fixer'. But, in helping Maebh, she's found an unlikely friendship, alongside chatterbox Kavi, and a whole ragtag bunch of people who she helps get out of problems. But, her friendship with BFF Holly is on the outs, and her feelings for Maebh are turning from dislike to something a lot more worrying. Will Aideen be able to realise that branching out, and finding new people, may lead to her fixing her own problems?

Now, I'm going to admit that this was a bit of an impulse request on NetGalley, but I was happy to be approved, and asked to take part in the blog tour. As soon as I started the book, I was hooked, and spent the entire day devouring it - I just didn't want to put it down. Aideen is a bit of a loner, with only one real friend, Holly, and she tries to push people away so that she doesn't get hurt. Her 'father' had an affair with her mam years ago, and though he is married and has a family, he keeps sniffing around, and whenever he returns, it sets off her mam's drinking, and Aideen has to clean up the mess. She's always on edge that her mam will lose her job, and they'll be in even more trouble, so she regularly skips school to make sure her mam isn't drinking. This has her teachers on her back, and she's barely keeping her head afloat. Then that's when Maebh enters the scene. As the daughter of the head teacher, and a swotty know it all, Maebh doesn't have many friends, and puts herself under loads of pressure. She's actually that stressed, she pulled out all her eyelashes before exams last year, and has no time to herself. Asking Aideen to push her down the stairs, to break her ankle, will actually free her time, and it sets off a friendship that soon blossoms into more. I loved the dynamic between Aideen and Maebh, especially as it was somewhat of a enemies to lovers romance. Their chemistry was fantastic, as was the banter between them - and, to me, they just felt extremely real.

Aideen was a character you couldn't help but love, and I truly felt for her and her struggles throughout the book. Honestly, her mother, and her 'bff', Holly, were awful characters, and I hated them. Holly was supposed to be her friend, but she always put her down, and treated Aideen like an idiot. She was all about herself, and was not a good person to be around, so I was overjoyed when Aideen grew closer to Maebh and Kavi. And Aideen's mam, was the worst. I understood why Aideen tried to protect her, and keep the social off their backs, but it's not her job to be the parent figure, it's her mams. Aideen shouldn't be worrying about if the electricity went off, or if they had enough food in, or needed a trip to the food bank. Nor should she be missing school to babysit an adult. I'm really happy with how the book ended, though would've liked to see a little more - but I understand why it ended in this way. This was a fantastic book, and I'll be looking to get my hands of Ciara's debut, The Falling in Love Montage.

Dates Read:
May 31, 2021

Rating
4 Stars