Book Review: “Awkward” by Gurpreet Kaur

“Awkward” by Gurpreet Kaur (2020)

Synopsis:

Hi!
I am Awkward.
Looking for a book description?
How about a disclaimer instead?
Disclaimer
This book contains Awkward’s awkward tales and drawings, and there’s no doubt that a three- year- old can draw better than Awkward. This book could make you cringe with awkwardness or it could melt your heart. The chances of the latter happening are minute. Read at your own risk. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

Awkward is the story of a girl named Awkward. She’s a teenager who is also very awkward and her personality is shy. Due to misunderstandings, she gets herself into sticky situations quite often. Because Awkward is so insecure she is very self-conscious of herself all the time. Throughout the book she struggles on her journey to become a more confident person. She wishes that people would stop treating her like her namesake.

This book is set at very fast paced rate and is easy to read in one sitting. The chapters are very short and a little bit choppy. My only complaint was that the writing was a bit jumbled at times because it read like a personal diary. Some of the sentences had a tendency to run on at times and I felt the flow was not smooth. While reading the novel, the reader was more so in Awkward’s head hearing her thoughts at a constant speed rather than an overall narrative .Sometimes I wasn’t sure if things were happening in story or if in Awkward’s head and it was a bit confusing.

All in all, this was a cute little short story. It it felt like it was intended for a much younger audience because of the writing style, while the content was suited for YA audiences. I think if Awkward’s character was a little more fleshed out and we got to learn more about the background of the stories and other featured characters it would add to the story as a whole.

Final Verdict: