Customer Reviews

It's Not You, It's Me

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Raise of hands, how many of you have ever been told "It's not you, it's me" during a break up? I bet lots, because this seems to be a popular break up line. One that's used at the end of Zoe and Henry's budding relationship, a relationship that Zoe thought was going to last forever.

It's Not You, It's Me starts out just when things between Zoe and Henry are going bad. Soon, they are broken up leaving Zoe to go into a serious stage of depression. Zoe is a believable character since she has all the feelings a girl who's been dumped has; sadness, worry, doubt, and wonder. Leaving her to come out in a way that you feel sorry for her. Though, unfortunately, this sorrow turns into semi hatred when Zoe comes up with a plan to get Henry back. I'm sorry but I personally felt that Zoe was WAY too codependent on Henry. It was like that without him she couldn't live because her grades dropped, her friendships suffered, and she went a bit crazy ( correction: Majorly Crazy) . Making it hard to get through this light read. Though, the other main characters made it somewhat better.

The plot kind of went around it one big circle. Since, for most of the book, Zoe was coming up with a way to get Henry back, does plan, plan doesn't work, and then she starts over. Leaving this to lather, rinse, and repeat a bit too much for my liking. Though, don't get me wrong, it was a semi decent book, but it wasn't for me.

Overall, I really don't suggest It's Not You, It's Me to anyone. Though, if you think you'll like it, then go ahead and read it.

Grade: D

Like many have said the character of Zoe comes off as a nut, basically sabotaging any chance she has of getting her ex-boyfriend back with her antics. Everyone tells her just leave it be, don't do that, don't say that, but she does it anyways without much thought. Even though she comes off as kind of crazy I feel like it depicts a bit of what any normal girlfriend might go through when she breaks up with the boy that really counts and this can be seen sort of as a cautionary tale. It sheds a bit of light on the ugly truth of breakup and the feelings that people might have (that they definitely should not act on.)

While Zoe was harder to swallow I rather liked the guys in the book. From Henry and his bandmate Niles to Sam, her friend that makes no secret of his crush on Zoe. They all seemed a lot more level-headed and also really seemed to care for Zoe even when she was acting crazy. I also liked Zoe's friends Julia and Shannon they tried to keep her on the right path for as long as they could and when that wasn't working that finally gave in and fed the craziness of Zoe and her plan.

The ending was a little meh but I think it was an appropriate ending for the message that I thought the author was trying to send. I really like how she and some of the characters stress that no matter who you are with, you need to maintain yourself and your own interests instead of losing yourself within someone else. I think that's a very important message that everyone needs to be reminded of from time to time.

Overall an interesting concept with probably a truer to life (but exaggerated) main character than we all want to admit to!

I bought this book for my girlfriend for Christmas and she really enjoyed it. It was hard for her to put it down once she started reading it.

I loved this book. It was so easy to get into this book and I could totally relate to it. I liked this book becuase it showed what crazy and funny things girls do after they get dumped like wear 40 pounds of make up, mini skirts and push up bras just to get there ex's attention. I think you should read it!

The plot of this book (girl loses boy, girl tries to win boy back) may seem familiar; however, this book is anything but typical. Zoe's plan to make Henry miss her includes multiple hilarious stunts, actions, and outfits. Not only will they make you laugh, but you'll also feel Zoe's embarrassment.

Kerry Cohen Hoffman's writing is clear and her characterization is crisp. Zoe truly is your girl next door experiencing her first bit of heartbreak. Although her actions are sometimes on the verge of desperate, her pain showed throughout, which made Zoe an easily relatable character. In addition, secondary characters, like Zoe's teacher, shine throughout the novel.

It's Not You, It's Me is a cute, short read. As this novel deals with the loss of a first love, it is relevant to today's teens. Kerry Cohen Hoffman has created a well written, fast paced novel with an important message that will put a smile on readers' faces. While I was not blown away, I enjoyed this novel.

This was one weird book! The sane part of me thought that Zoe was a complete psycho, but the abnormal side of me found her to be quite charming. In all honesty, I had mixed feelings about most of It's Not You, It's Me.

What I found charming about Zoe was that, she knew what she wanted and would do anything to get it. Zoe gets herself into some really crazy and hilarious situations trying to win back Henry. While Zoe's stalking might have been completing unrealistic, it was pretty darn funny at times! The rest of the time I just found Zoe to be quite annoying. Zoe was a very shallow person and it really bugged me that she wouldn't give Sam a change because he was a "geek."

Sam was the only secondary character that I felt had any real personality. Zoe's two best friends Julia and Shannon were not all that interesting. The novel was very short had it been a little bit longer maybe some of the secondary characters would have had more personality. I would have liked to see more from Julia and Shannon in particular.

The ending left me feeling happy even if it was completely predictable. I was happy to see Zoe use some of her creative energy on something else besides boys.

Overall, It's Not Me, It's You was a quick and (mostly) fun read. I read the novel while sick in bed and think that I probably would have enjoyed it less had I been feeling healthier. It's Not You, It's Me it the perfect book to read when you need to escape for a while.

Zoe Gill has been dating Henry for six months. SIX MONTHS!!! In teenage years, that is a lifetime! She has counted every single kiss; every single moment they have been together.

Zoe believed that their bond would last forever. But now, something has gone horribly awry. Henry doesn't answer his phone at the predetermined time of 9:00pm. Zoe begins to analyze Henry's behavior. He has been acting strangely.....

Zoe frantically enlists the help of her friends, Julia and Shannon, to identify this peculiar behavior. Like true friends, they tell her not to worry, and that everything will be fine at school the next day.

Inevitably, it's not fine. These were the first signs of a major teenage break-up. Zoe is desperate to discover what she did wrong, and ultimately, how to win back Henry's heart. Should she make him jealous? What if she ignores him?

Zoe is willing to go to any lengths to get Henry back, but is he really worth it?

Kerry Cohen Hoffmann has written a story of teenage love and loss that takes place over the course of a month. The reader is able to watch what happens to Zoe after the demise of her relationship with Henry. She suffers unbelievable lows, but eventually discovers that she must begin to love herself before anyone else will. Any girl who has had their heart broken will identify with Zoe's plight.

We've all been there.........done that.

Reviewed by: LadyJay

I am a huge fan of Kerry Hoffmann. I have read her previous books and adored them. I was, therefore, extremely thrilled when I received this one!
It's Not You, It's Me is actually a YA novel where we meet our main character Zoë who is in the midst of a romantic crisis. She has been dating Henry for the last 6 months and every night at exactly 9:00 p.m. they call each other on the telephone and say goodnight to each other. Except this night (day 1), Zoë has been calling and all she gets is voice mail. She immediately gets a sinking, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her that this relationship is over.

Sure enough, the next day, Henry tells her its over 'but hey! let's be friends' (why do guys ALWAYS say this absolutely stupid thing????).

From this moment, we, the readers get to follow, day by day, Zoe's descent into heartbreak and depression where she is unable to accept his decision and tries just about everything to 'get him back'.
From the first page of this novel, I instantly connected with Zoë. Although to some, the fact that Henry was not answering his telephone on that one night would mean nothing, I would have (I actually have) reacted exactly the same as Zoë did - freaked out! Somehow she knew - even if to most people, she just appeared to be panicking over nothing.

What struck me the most about this novel is how single minded and totally misguided Zoe was! No matter what her friends told her or no matter what she knew inside was the right thing to do, she almost self-destructively went ahead and did the opposite. When I read the passage where she actually climbs up a tree in order to throw a poem in Henry's room, I thought 'this girl has lost it' and I felt myselt cringe. Yet, at the same time, I kept asking myself how many stupid, dangerous and foolish things I had done in my life (not only as a teen) to get, keep or get back a guy that had left.

I have a theory that for the most part, when it comes to men, women can be very stupid!!!! and I kept thinking this as I was reading this book.
Here is a bright girl, who has good friends, a fairly stable family (although I have to say that I thought that the parental support and interest in this novel was almost non-existent!) can be so thrown off by a breakup - yet, I also knew exactly how she felt. This book was difficult to read at times because it brought back lots of bad memories for me (although I never went up a tree thank goodness).

Having read Hoffmann's books, I am familiar with her background and it is obvious that she is very familiar with her main character - Hoffmann is a master at taking the 'broken' side of the female brain - usually the one associated with sex, love and men and putting it out there.
This book is a must read for all females - its almost like looking into a mirror.