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Ciara Smyth
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Not My Problem Kindle Edition

by Ciara Smyth (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 712 ratings
See all formats and editions

Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour, this queer coming-of-age story from the author of The Falling in Love Montage is wry, multilayered, and unflinchingly honest.

Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t solve. But when she stumbles upon overachiever Meabh Kowalska having a full-blown meltdown, she sees one that she can actually fix. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help—by pushing her down the stairs.

Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when one of their classmates learns about their little scheme, more “clients” start asking for Aideen’s “help”—kicking off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and even an unexpected chance at love.

Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own. But it might be the push Aideen needs to start.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    HarperTeen
  5. Publication date
    May 25, 2021
  6. Reading age
    13 - 17 years
  7. Grade level
    8 - 9
  8. File size
    3960 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—In this witty and engaging novel, Irish author Smyth creates a flawed teen girl, Aideen, who makes a credible journey from self-protectively tough to ready and willing to face her main problem: her single mother's neglectful alcoholism. When Aideen makes a snap decision to help the principal's overachieving, overscheduled, and generally disliked daughter, she begins doing secret favors for classmates in return for them owing her their help. She develops unexpected feelings for one of her clients and makes a new friend in Kavi, who is chatty and humorous but also has his own problems as, Aideen discovers, everyone does. The story unfolds effortlessly, detailing both suspenseful and hilarious moments, as does real life. Populated with believable high school friends and very few adults, Aideen and most other characters are white, and Kavi is Indian. Here, Aideen's lesbian identity is not a plot point, but a detail that gives her authenticity. VERDICT This engaging novel will hook readers immediately. Recommended for all collections serving teens.—Francisca Goldsmith, Lib. Ronin, Worcester, MA

Review

"Witty and engaging. Will hook readers immediately." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"Often hilarious, tart, and sarcastic; often heart-tuggingly poignant; always completely authentic and compulsively readable." — Horn Book Magazine

“Engaging and enjoyable. A noteworthy take on vulnerability and seeking help that doesn’t offer platitudes.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Falling in Love Montage:  “An emotionally stirring queer romance with witty, playful dialogue.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Delightfully brash and no-nonsense. Pleasantly and audaciously fills a gap in queer romance.”
— Kirkus Reviews

"A meet-cute in the style of Jenny Han, and just as sweet and cinematic as YA rom-com fans will expect." — Booklist

“A snarky and sincere romp through meet-cutes and grand romantic gestures, this book is a must-read for fans of Becky Albertali and Morgan Matson.” —   Ashley Poston, author of Geekerella and The Princess and the Fangirl

“A joyous, hilarious, big-hearted book with the kind of electric, rollicking voice that makes you want to live in its pages forever.” — Jeff Zentner, Morris Award-winning author of Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee

“A charming romp of a rom-com about the delights and terrors of falling in love. Saoirse is a heroine for the ages; she is smart, flawed, funny, and—when she lets her guard down—achingly vulnerable. This book will make your heart sing. Read it.” —  Misa Sugiura, award-winning author of It's Not Like It's a Secret and This Time Will Be Different

“A book that manages to be both tenderly gutting and absolutely hilarious. I want to be best friends with Saoirse Clarke.” —  Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights

“A slow-burn summer romance narrated by a beautifully snarky heroine who likes to pretend that she doesn’t have a heart of gold. This book was made for those endless-feeling summer nights.” —  Aminah Mae Safi, author of Not the Girls You're Looking For and Tell Me How You Really Feel

“Everything I wanted and so much more. How refreshing to read about two girls who like girls who find each other in the perfect meet cute. You’ll want to read this one again and again.” — Jaye Robin Brown, author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit and The Meaning of Birds

“The romantic story all queer girls deserve: funny, flirty, and absolutely perfect.” — Camryn Garrett, author of Full Disclosure

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08GKQY59H
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperTeen (May 25, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 25, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3960 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 712 ratings

About the author

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Ciara Smyth

Ciara Smyth

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Ciara Smyth studied drama, teaching, and then social work at university. She thought she didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up. She became a writer so she wouldn’t have to grow up. She enjoys jigging (verb: to complete a jigsaw puzzle), playing the violin badly, and having serious conversations with her pets. Ciara has lived in Belfast for over ten years and still doesn’t really know her way around. Visit her online at www.ciarasmyth.com.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
712 global ratings
Funny But Needed
5 Stars
Funny But Needed
This book was funny, creative, and a little sad. I'm not sure I've encountered a book that talks about what codependency in kids looks like until this book. This is probably also the first time in a while that I read a book and was sad it ended so soon. I also found it interesting that the book didn't make a big deal of being a lesbian or coming out; it was just natural and normal, which is how we wish it would be all of the time.
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Top reviews from the United States

Cristina C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Would Absolutely Recommend!!
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
I was definitely drawn to the story after reading the summary and wanting more when it suggests the narrator has problems of her own she feels she can't handle so to feel in control she helps others. I didn't expect to be so gripped by this particular story, though! I felt like the characters were fleshed out, relatable, and had such a unique voice. The inner and outer conflicts of Aideen's are raw and real, they come right off the page. Aideen & Meabh's chemistry felt natural and unforced and you really root for them, as well as rooting for Aideen to learn to accept help and learn that she is making too many excuses for her mom and for her best friend Holly. I wanted a bit more back story on her and Holly's relationship and clarification if Holly felt the same as Aideen, because it seemed like Holly didn't at all and was using the fact that Aideen loved her so much to take advantage and have someone be reliant on her. I also feel like the inner dialogue where Aideen makes excuses for people and blames herself for "taking things wrong" could've been used a tad less or formatted differently, but definitely not eliminated completely because it was important. All in all am definitely keeping this book and will read again!
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Bigbird
4.0 out of 5 stars So Good... Definite vibes of "Derry Girls"
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2023
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This book is filling my Derry Girls-loving heart with all the things I miss about the show. It feels very much like the shite those girls would come up with--helping a girl by pushing her down a flight of stairs. WTF?

The MC is deeply flawed, but that makes her real (and very Derry Girls-esque). She questions everything, which can feel a little much, but it works for her.

Some people are upset that it's not really a romance, but the description only mentions an "unexpected chance at love." Not that the whole story was about it. Though the story isn't a love story, the romance subplot (and it is definitely SUBplot) was adorable.

I need more books like this one in my life.
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Brandy
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Enemy-to-Lovers Novel
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022
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Not My Problem is hilarious. The story is about a girl named Aideen who helps Meabh (pronounced as Maeve) with her problems. Aideen then becomes everyone's problem solver and encounters love, new friends, and some heartbreak. Aideen, Kavi, and Meabh made the entire story. This trio was absolutely hilarious--especially Kavi. They had me laughing a lot. Ciara Smyth did an excellent job with the story. Although there were some heavy, sad topics, Smyth entertwined humor into it beautifully making it an enjoyable read (and actually better than her previous novel The Falling In Love Montage). Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves sapphic content, an enemies to lover trope, and is looking for a good laugh.
4 people found this helpful
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Robert Negri
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2023
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An awesome read! Loved it. Aideen is a well written, compelling character.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Laughing out loud
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2022
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Try not to read it in public cuz it made me laugh silly and kinda embarrassing! :)
One person found this helpful
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Fins1997
4.0 out of 5 stars well written
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2022
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It was a little difficult to follow the high school terms since I am not from that country. I really enjoyed the interactions between the accidental friendship that formed. The ending was really good.
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Aubrey Doll
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2021
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I loved this book! It was real and made me laugh. It also made me sad. It didn’t provide perfect answers for problems that can’t just be fixed in an instant. Highly recommend!
2 people found this helpful
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melissa
3.0 out of 5 stars interesante
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2023
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Es un libro problemático porque dice que no me interesa pero en algo que me gusto en lego que tenia romancé infantil y me gusto mucho pero no fue lo mio
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Top reviews from other countries

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Luc Cantin
5.0 out of 5 stars Liked it
Reviewed in Canada on August 6, 2023
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Great book
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Giovanna Medeiros
5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC
Reviewed in Brazil on November 23, 2021
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I fell for the second book of this authors I had to check the first one, and it's absolutely amazing. I can believe I lived so many years without her books. Everyone should read them, not only because of the heartwarming romances, but for the character's growth as a person.
One person found this helpful
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Juliette Gerron
5.0 out of 5 stars This was a incredible read from start to finish !!!
Reviewed in France on April 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
I loved this! I was a big fan of Smyth’s, The Falling in Love Montage, so this book was on the top of my must read list. My expectations were high, but this book met every single one of them. I’m happily surprised to say this, but I thought this book was actually better than TFILM. This is the kind of book that I think is just a must for YA fans. And even if you are not a huge YA fan, this book is written so well that I think you will love it anyway.

Not my Problem in three words is quick, lighthearted, and funny!
It follows Aideen, a witty and vibrant teen with tons of problems of her own but decides to solve others' problems instead of solving hers.
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Michela
4.0 out of 5 stars Leggero
Reviewed in Italy on January 7, 2023
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Leggero e molto scorrevole. La love story è un contorno molto carino anche se mi aspettavo di più speravo in di più. Ma l'ho amato.ncon lui tutti i personaggi
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Tulika Pal
5.0 out of 5 stars a perfect YA sapphic read - my favorite now!
Reviewed in India on December 15, 2022
Verified Purchase
this was my second CS book and it's somehow better than TFILM. It's one of those rare books that have the air of a treasure hunt find, carrying that exhilaration and power to extract continuous stream of laughs and cries out of you simultaneously. everything, from the crisp, funny dialogues to the weird, brilliant characters, was so genuinely, stomach-achingly funny, with a writing that feels like a rendition of your favorite song: hilarious and sarcastic and sharp and biting and powerful. it's beauty trapped beneath every word.

fave parts:

• this huge focus on friends. Aideen forging actual, meaningful friendships with not just Kavi and Meabh but also with the ragtag, misfit people she collected in her "social enterprise".

the book pushed a few narratives so candidly into the mix of laughs with zero preachiness attached to it and it was brilliant: like, realizing 1. when to step out of a bad, toxic friendship and not hold on to it just because of the long, uncoded history we share, 2. but also that a person isn't really painted in just black and white tones. 3. to take time to compensate for our mistakes when we mess up, and not just do a grand gesture to make everything better again. 4. liking a person with her annoying, prissy habits, not despite them.

• the characterization was. so. incredible?? Aideen was such a RIOT to read about. how she'd deliberately text in ridiculous abbreviations just to annoy Meabh, and kept helping others without giving a single shit about consequences - everything only endeared her to me.

Meabh, tho. despite her overall appearance of prim and sycophantic, and generally annoying, Ciara managed to make her look passionate and caring and sweet, who stopped being annoying to me long ago. (Or is a person still annoying if you like her being annoying?)

• the casual juxtaposition of humor and heaviness. Aideen's home life was so terrible: the raw portrayal of the impact an alcoholic parent stamps on a child's consciousness chafed at my heart.

• and oooff, her and Aideen's relationship was like a worn-out blanket, soft and warm and comforting. I loved the gradual, eventual build-up of their friendship. And the chemistry between them at times was a palpable current just jumping out of the page. they were adorable together.

• KAVIIII. Oh how i ADORED that guy. He was the sweetest 16-year-old Indian kid ever written. I LOVED that the author didn't gloss over the Indian part, or the racist treatment he might've got. Also yeah, he was the stereotypical comic relief in here too but it wasn't derogatory, but actually made me hurt my jaw from laughing at his ill-timely appearances and monologues.

• Also, yes, Ms Devlin. One of the best teacher presences in all fiction.

• The ending gets props for being Absolutely Exquisite, for not being tied up neatly with a bow. To have Aideen finally arrive at a position where she could ask for help, something she's been resisting throughout the book was a sigh-inducing, hardcore satisfying sight.
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