Geek Girl: All That Glitters by Holly Smale
Genre: Contemporary, Humour
Published by: HarperCollins
Pages: 430
Format: ARC E-Book
Rating: ★★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

The fourth book in the Geek Girl series maintained the same level of humour and fun that the other three books in the series uphold! ‘All That Glitters’ took Harriet on a new adventure: being a Sixth Form student! (Such a nice change from the plethora of secondary school settings out there!)

Harriet’s venture into sixth form shouldn’t dissuade a younger reader from continuing the series – she’s still the same geeky, bubbly girl she was in secondary. Although, we were expecting Harriet’s voice to mature as she became a young adult, we’re sure this will happen in the subsequent books, as she went through some major character development by the end of the book.

Harriet is used to being labelled as a geek. In fact, it’s a label she’ll give herself with pride. Sixth form gave her the chance to be the person she wanted to be, no longer restricted by a school uniform or packed timetable. However, her view of post-16 education was very optimistic, which can sometimes led to disappointment. Her innocent outlook on life and her willingness to trust others is refreshing, but acts as her Achilles heel. Being that she’s now got a celebrity-status as a model, her peers are desperate to take advantage of her new-found fame and it seemed that Harriet was the only one not to realise this.

By the end of the book, Harriet had to face up to her naivety. She was forced to look at her life in a harsher light. It was interesting to see how she dealt with the struggles of friendship and knowing who to trust. Hopefully, her epiphany that she is valuable and likeable and beautiful, brought on by the lovely Annabelle (a.k.a The Best Parent Ever) will lead to a more empowered and self-assured Harriet in the next book.

BUT this wouldn’t be a ‘Geek Girl’ book if it didn’t include a modelling adventure. Harriet’s trip to Morocco was super cute, with a surprising, underlying tone of social justice. It was lovely to read a character with such firm beliefs in what was right and wrong.

AND it also wouldn’t be a ‘Geek Girl’ book if it didn’t include the romantic roller coaster of Harriet and Nick. I love how the flashbacks of their relationship are like deleted scenes from the previous books. Something that really stood out for me concerning ‘All That Glitters’ was Harriet’s very mature way of dealing with romance and relationships. She may not be an expert in friendship, but she knows exactly what she needs to fix a broken heart. I admired her for her reserve and selflessness, which is something I don’t find in a lot of YA books.
And, wait a minute, is this new Jasper character going to form the final point in a love triangle? (…I hope so.)

Overall, ‘All That Glitters’ was an excellent addition to the series. The books are so quick to read and Holly Smale’s writing style is so easy to slip into – perfect if you want something funny, that will keep you entertained from beginning to end!