BLOG TOUR: Everything Sucks by Hannah Friedman

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Everything Sucks is a hilarious, hip, tongue-in-cheek teen memoir about the journey to cooldom from a young, irreverent, newly discovered writer.

“By my senior year [in high school] I am the chair of the student body and disciplinary committee, coordinator of 3 community service programs, I have a 4.0 GPA, a millionaire boyfriend with a BMW, and finally, for the first time in my entire life, I am considered ‘cool.’ But when an article of mine about the college admissions process is published in Newsweek, everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve is pulled out from under me…and I resolve once and for all to stop allowing other people to define me.”

Welcome inside the head of 21-year-old Hannah Friedman–a fresh new author whose biting wit and captivating writing style is a cross between bestselling YA author Anne Brashares (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and the hysterically honest Amy Sedaris (I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence). Everything Sucks details the teenage years in all of their cringe-worthy absurdity–from getting home schooled in a tour bus with hippie musicians to attending one of New York’s most prestigious private schools on full scholarship to developing a drug addiction and eating disorder to nearly getting kicked out of Yale University before she even gets to attend. In the end, it’s Friedman’s spirit that keeps her afloat.

I really liked Hannah's voice. She comes off as very relatable. Just a girl trying to get through childhood and her teen years without being picked on and having some friends to hang out with. Instantly when Hannah starts telling her tale you know she doesn't come from your average family, a mother that trained monkeys for a living and one just so happens to be part of her family, for longer than Hannah has been part of it! And a musician father who takes them on tour with him. She also has a little brother that we don't learn I whole ton about in the book but he's there in the background.

Things really get rolling when Hannah is accepted to a private school for high school. It's a boarding school but it's still local for her so for the most part she commutes. Once Hannah really has the chance she easily makes friends in a variety of groups (the train kids, the preppy girls, rich hippies). At one point her dad starts a band at her school which is rather embarrassing for Hannah but proves to be another way for her to make some friends. Eventually Hannah is introduced to a darker side of adolescence through drugs and the world of eating disorders. It makes for a real and honest look at what teens can face but through it all Hannah remains relatable.

So while her story can be serious at points it's also can be really funny. Hannah's memoir almost reads like fiction at some points, she's so candid and funny it's crazy to believe this is her life and not a work of fiction. She has a way with words and situations you can't help but love her and hope that wherever her life takes her she is successful. I'd say she's pretty unforgettable.

Hannah covers a lot of ground in her memoir and in her life at such a young age. I really hope she continues to write and share her experiences. I'd also love to see her try her hand at fiction!

Everything Sucks is released today!
Genre: Young Adult Memoir
4/5 Stars

Check out Hannah's Twitter, her website, and the web series she took part in Flying Solo.

Check out the book trailer too, I've already watched it a few times, it's really well done!