Review: You Don't Know Me, by Sophia Bennett.

Everyone wants 15 minutes of fame. Meet Sasha, Jodie, Rose and Nell, best friends, they get theirs. They record silly, cheesy music videos in their spare time... but someone steals the phone the films are recorded on, and suddenly they find themselves entered into the biggest music competition in the country. They get to sing together in front of millions, it seems like a dream come true…. but then, the producers say one of them must go.
Surely no girl would drop her best friend for a competiton...
Unless…

Having to very quickly make a decision can cloud logic and you become impulsive, so I understand why Sasha dropped her friend to be on TV. She's a very believable, relatable character, and the book is written from her perspective.

Well, fame wasn't exactly what they thought it would be….

The main theme of this book was the contrast between friendship and bullying. It taught me that whatever hardships you are made to go through, something positive will come from it, however little that may be. Sasha is badly bullied because of the decision she makes, but she wouldn't have learnt to pour her feelings into songwriting if that hadn't been the case. In the same respect, if I hadn't gone through difficulties, I wouldn't have learnt to pour my feelings into art! Cyberbullying is a common issue a lot of children go through, and 'You Don't Know Me' shows that it does get better, with the help of her friends, Sasha overcomes the nasty messages sent to her. However I would have liked the idea of adult involvement to feature more, as it's not often teens can sensibly stop bullies by themselves. The book also shows what it means to be loyal, and also how devastating the consequences of sending a nasty message online can be. It's very easy to press 'anonymous' and send a quick, cruel message to someone, but it's just as easy to track where it came from.

There are many plot twists throughout, which my Mum preempted before I did, keeping me racing through the book in 2 days. It makes you realise that there are always two sides to every story, and you shouldn't ever judge someone from what you "hear" from other people. However, despite all the drama, the final chapter of the book was heartwarming and very convincing. It successfully reinstates Sophia's message, and I was really pleased with it.

I would definitely recommend this quick and easy story for teens, especially because a lot of the book is written through online messaging, making it modern and more identifiable to this age group.

This was my first Sophia Bennett book, and I shall definitely be adding her other work to my TBR list! Thankyou to Chicken House for sending me a review copy of this book!