It's Not Me, It's You

by Charlotte Ward

[Leah]

It’s Not Me, It’s You is a break up bible with a difference: this one will help you get over the end of your relationship and gives you some hilarious stories from other girls who have survived break-ups. It’s jam-packed with stories – from good relationships, bad relationships and just plain ugly relationships and is a must-read if you’re looking for a little pick-me-up.

Now as this is a non-fiction book my review isn’t going to be very long. For starters there are no characters in the book so I can’t discuss them, there’s no plot line so I can’t discuss that so it means a relatively short review compared to those I normally write. I will, however, make sure it’s informative enough so you can decide if you want to read it or not!

It’s Not Me, It’s You focuses on what you should do after a relationship has ended rather than telling you how you should try and win your man back like other break-up bibles. Now I’m not a reader of self-help-type books and usually find them incredibly self-indulgent but It’s Not Me, It’s You is totally different. It doesn’t mollycoddle you, or tell you that you were wrong to dump your boyfriend, nor does it tell you to go and put fish heads into his curtain poles. The book tells you how to get over the break-up and provides stories of break-ups so much worse than you’re own that you’ll instantly forget what’s happened to you. It’s very cleverly done and the book rarely loses it’s pace.

The book is broken down into stages; 8 in total as well as an Introduction and Conclusion. The stages are then broken down into sub-categories as well as having a section or two in each chapter bordered by dots with women given their views on things like why a man didn’t call, the truth about men and why men cheated on their respective girlfriends. There’s also a dotted-bordered-part giving us some fab songs to listen to after breaking up with a boyfriend like I’m Outta Love by Anastacia, Single Ladies by Beyonce and Fighter by Christina Aguilera. Surprisingly, we also get tales from the boys where they tell us about their break-ups as well as some of the dumping they’ve done.

Charlotte Ward has a very easy writing style and isn’t afraid to tell us about the bad relationships she’s had. Charlotte talks to you in an easy way and doesn’t come across as patronizing, as I assume a lot of these books do. Charlotte doesn’t come across like that at all and she writes the book as if she’s actually talking to me, which I like. Reading the book is like having a big long session with your friends, where you all share your horror dating stories and doesn’t let you dwell on why you now find yourself single.

It’s Not Me, It’s You is a relatively short read at 279 pages so you can pick it up and put it down as you please. I read it by stage and found myself laughing out loud on occassions at just how bad some men were to their girlfriends. I’m probably not the books target market but I enjoyed it nevertheless and it’ll definitely come in handy if you’ve just been dumped. I would wholly recommend you read It’s Not Me, It’s You regardless of your relationship status. It’s a very enjoyable read, and is told in a really great style and is presented in a great format. I really hope Charlotte tries her hand at fiction as she is a great writer. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for her first book, another memoir, titled Why Am I Always The One Before ‘The One’?