[Review] Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes

ABOUT

Title: Girl Against the Universe

Author: Paula Stokes

Publisher: HarperTeen 

Release Date: May 17th 2016 

Goodreads Page

Synopsis:

Maguire is bad luck.

No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the rollercoaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch.

It’s safest for Maguire to hide out in her room, where she can cause less damage and avoid meeting new people who she could hurt. But then she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star. Jordy is confident, talented, and lucky, and he’s convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to stay away. But it turns out staying away is harder than she thought.

From author Paula Stokes comes a funny and poignant novel about accepting the past, embracing the future, and learning to make your own luck.

I love this book. I LOVE THIS BOOK. 

Girl against the universe is about Maguire -- a teenage girl who is convinced she brings bad luck to those around her. Her past seems to corroborate her thinking, like when her father, brother and uncle all died in a car crash and she walked away completely fine. Her mother has her go to a therapist and there she meets Jordy -- a cute, aspiring pro tennis athlete. The novel follows Maguire and her journey through coping with her fears, falling in love and learning that we're all at the mercy of the Universe.

Maguire definitely goes on a big self discovery journey in the novel that I really enjoyed being a part of and experiencing with her. Maguire is also a huge book nerd. Apparently she has like 500+ books? I'd love to see her book shelf. She's also really into tennis and I was excited by that because I was like OMG a sport I can understand! (I'm constantly confused by football references in books and in real life). I could definitely see myself being friends with Maguire and her crew.

Jordy is adorable. He's an aspiring pro tennis athlete so he doesn't really go to school and instead does it online. He still has to go in for tests and things though. He goes to the same therapist as Maguire and he ends up helping to coach the girls tennis team that Maguire is trying out for. I love how supportive he is in helping Maguire with her therapy goals and really just how their relationship develops. Jordy has a sister named Penn and I definitely got a kick out of that since it also happens to be the name of a tennis brand.

I love how therapy is depicted in the novel. The novel is divided into the different sessions that she attends at first until the story evolves out of the therapists office. The therapist explains things to Maguire (and by extension the reader) and in an easy way to understand especially for people who have never been to therapy.

The plot definitely has its ups and downs as Maguire goes through the ups and downs of getting better. I was also really invested in Maguire and so I definitely cried at one point. It gave me AALLLL the feels. It was also super cool seeing Pili from In Love With Handmade as a character in the novel!!

While this novel is not at all as mysterious and murder-y as Paula's lasts novel, she still casts her word magic over me and has me totally in love with this book. I adore Maguire and Jordy and the chemistry they have together. This book also has so many things -- sports, romance, tragedy, drama, great friendships and of course a journey of self discovery. I love this book and I definitely hope you do too if you decide to pick it up.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Happy Reading!