Hashtag Hermione: Wipeout! (Girls Can Vlog)

by Emma Moss

[Leah]

The Girls Can Vlog series is a must-read for anyone who wants to be a vlogger and anyone aged between 10-13, because these girls are amazing. They deal with real life issues, they’re not perfect, and their path to becoming vloggers is not about instant fame and success and money; they’re just normal thirteen-year-old girls who enjoy vlogging (among other things). Hashtag Hermione Wipeout was the one I was looking forward to the most, since Hermione is a bookworm like me and prefers books to humans most of the time (excluding Lucy, Abby and Jessie). Saying that, I am SUPER intrigued for Jessie’s book because she’s a mystery!

These books aren’t perfect (does thirteen-year-old Abby really have stilettos? I know thirteen-year-olds are the new thirty-year-olds, but come on. Not a chance that’s true. FYI at thirteen, I was in tracksuits, everyone I knew was in tracksuits) but they’re super fun and Hashtag Hermione Wipeout is another brilliant addition to the Girls Can Vlog series. As always, the vlogs themselves are fantastic to read about and they’re such quick reads that it feels like it’s over in the blink of an eye. I almost wish they were longer as I enjoy being with the girls.

Hermione is a great character, I loved her, I loved the trip to France, the skiing, the only thing I questioned was the so-called romance. I don’t know why this series has romance in it – they’re kids, they should be worried about whatever thirteen-year-olds are worried about not being in love and that’s not me tearing down a thirteen-year-old saying they can’t be in love, that’s me saying it doesn’t seem to come off, when these books are about the friendship these girls have and the issues they face, and Thierry feels shoe-horned in (he’s a couple years older than Hermione, that in itself is a red flag because while age difference isn’t a thing when you’re older, the difference between being thirteen and fifteen/sixteen is massive) and I just felt Hermione was a bit off in her own world there.

Hashtag Hermione Wipeout was a fantastic third addition. The plot of Hermione’s parents splitting up came across very real and Hermione’s reaction made my heart break a bit for her, because that can’t be a good thing to experience, no matter how old you are. Online bullying is also touched upon, which was handled well and I will never, for the life of me, understand why people go online to say mean things about other people. If that makes you feel better about your own life, then you seriously need to look at yourself hard. I can’t wait for Jazzy Jessie Going For Gold, I really love this series. Yes, there are some flaws, but I firmly believe this is a series kids can devour and love so much.