Virgin

By Radhika Sanghani

Review

I did rather enjoy this. A lot. Because it was just so damn relatable

Ellie is a virgin. We are reminded of this fact multiple times just over the course of the first few paragraphs. It’s even in the title, so it’s obviously going to be a very important part of the story. This is true. Her virginity is one of the main problems in Ellie’s life. Or so she thinks anyway.

It’s at this point where a lot of people would probably just say; “Why is it such a big deal to her…? So what if she’s 21 years old and still a virgin, there are a lot more serious problems in the world that she could be dealing with” - even her closest friends point this out to her right at the beginning. But that is kind of why I enjoyed the book so much. It’s such a simple matter, in fact the whole book deals with such small problems that almost every person comes across in their lives at some point. For a quick read, it’s fun, hilarious and light-hearted, which I always love.

“‘Did you actually search for virginity advice on Wikipedia?’ ‘See how desperate I am?’"

Ellie’s character is fab. She may seem a little whiney or annoying to some people (as i’ve seen in other reviews) but that just made me relate to her even more. I think that my own personal experiences revolving around university helped with this though. It has been compared to Bridget Jones’ Diary, and it’s very obvious as to why. Both protagonist characters are honest, hilarious, unlucky in love and just rather brilliant.

Ellie begins a journey to lose her ‘V-plates’ after a slightly embarrassing trip to the doctors, where she begins to question why she hasn’t gone and lost them already. We are thrown right into her past stories of misfortune and these kinds of incidents continue as her, along with her loyal besties Emma and Lara she struggles with conflicting thoughts about sex, shaving, first kisse, uni life and friendship.

There were some cringey moments. The writing could sometimes get almost too graphic, but it just made it even funnier. Let’s just say it’s not aimed at young teens, but it’s so brutally honest that you could still read it around this age. I would have loved to have read this a few years ago so I could learn a bit from it.

“If I could steer a wheel, I could let someone penetrate me.”

I found myself laughing out loud on so many occasions. Sometimes it was because of something Ellie would say or do and other times it was because of something I’ve personally done myself that was similar. So I was just laughing at myself.

Radhika Sanghani’s writing is so down to Earth and straight to the point, it makes it all so much more believable because I know that girls tend to obsess over even the littlest of things that may seem so small and pointless to others. And it doesn’t create a fairy-tale ending that happens a lot in contemporary fiction. Ellie accepts that she’s not the smartest or prettiest and miracles don’t just magically happen.

And there’s even a motivational message behind it all, something to encourage and inspire young people going through their teenage years.

“‘I, Ellie Kolstakis, look amazing. I am a beautiful, confident individual and can have anything I want. I will go downstairs, I will be amazing and I will be brave. I am incredible.’"

To finally conclude, this is just so relatable (see how many times I can use that word to describe everything about this book). I think I read this at the right time in my life to enjoy it so very much.

AND I just found out there is a sequel. November 3rd needs to hurry up already. Woo