Virgin

by Radhika Sanghani

[Leah]

When I heard about Radhika Sanghani's debut novel Virgin, it promised a shocking read, a Judy Blume-esque novel that provided a proper look into sex and losing virginity... And I was really looking forward to reading it - I like novels that are unique, that don't shy away from difficult or taboo topics, I was very happy to receive a copy to review, but I actually ended up being quite disappointed with the novel.

Virgin is a very honest look at virginity and the pressure to lose your v-card and that's all good stuff, but it was just so bloody awkward. Ellie is one of the most naive, self-obsessed 21 year old I've ever met! It's all her,  her, her and if anyone ever bothers to tell her the truth, she doesn't speak to them for ages (as she does with her BFF Lara - if you were really BFFs, you'd never go weeks without speaking, FYI, you'd pick up the darn phone probably the next day!!). It was like the novel didn't know what it wanted to be - Ellie's quest to lose her v-card, or a mission for girls to not worry about all things sex-related, as Ellie and her friend Emma start a vlog clearly unaware that term means video blogger...

I really, really struggled to like Ellie. She was a bit too cray-cray for me. Too immature. She just needed to relax, to stop stressing so much - if all you've got to worry about in the world is your virginity, then your life isn't too bloody awful. Ya know? I appreciated the fact Ellie's friend Lara wasn't willing to sugar coat Ellie's predicament, even if it meant she disappeared for most of the novel as Ellie threw a strop. I did, however, like Emma - she was such an awesome addition to the novel, and I liked her laissez faire attitude to life, and sex.

Virgin straddles the genres, and again I think this is it's problem - it can't decide if it's YA or Chick Lit, and I just wanted more from the blog aspect - it was a great idea, and I wished Sanghani had focused more on that than Ellie's v-card. For a proper novel about losing your v-card you ought to check out Losing It by Cora Carmack. As much as I appreciated the honesty of Virgin, part of me thinks that the whole reason there aren't more books about people's body hair, is because people don't want to read about all that stuff, and I just felt so awkward whenever Ellie was being far too honest about everything. I just wanted to cover my eyes and run away. Certainly an interesting idea, but it just didn't work for me.This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read