Access All Awkward

Awkward #3

by Beth Garrod

Bella Fisher is stuck in EXAM HELL - with only the promise of a weekend at the RebelRocks festival with her mates as a reward afterwards. OK, so she can't actually afford a ticket and will have to work as a litter picker and toilet scrubber, but it's still going to be epic: the best bands, her best friends and best-boy-in-the-world Adam, with not a parent or teacher in sight.

But when she arrives to find annoying older sister Jo has been sent by Mum to keep an eye on her, things go from bad to worse. BFF Rachel is hanging out with some mean girls, awful ex-boyfriend Luke pitches up with his model girlfriend and her pristine Hunter wellies, and the drummer in her favourite band is exposed as a sexist pig. All the face glitter and flower crowns in the world can't save the day... can they?

Genres: Young Adult, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Romance

400 pages, Paperback

Published July 5, 2018

Reviews

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite of the series so far! I love festival/convention themed books, so this one instantly grabbed my attention, but so do the rebellion against sexism and the strong friendship message!

[Alix Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this book. In the summer I am always in the mood for YA and this absolutely hit the spot. I've never read a book set at a festival before (or even been to a festival for that matter), but this book transported me to a (sometimes) sparkling world of friendship, glitter and late summer nights celebrating music and good times. I loved how realistic this book was, and that it didn't sugar coat the teenage dream of a summer at a festival with all your best mates. The fact that Bella couldn't afford a ticket in the first place and had to work, the questionable portaloos, and prolific sexism in the music industry were issues that were brilliantly portrayed in this book, and I think it is really important that they were.

I absolutely loved Bella's voice; I loved how her kindness and confidence and loyalties were qualities that were exentuated. The relatonships in this book were also fantastically portrayed as being lovely and healthy. I also loved the plot about The Session and the girls fighting back against the awful sexism. Access All Awkward brilliantly manages to tackle serious, current issues while presenting fantastic characters that come right off the page, and hilarious moments. If you need a hilarious YA summer read about friendship, first love and the intoxicating chaos of a first festival, then look no longer - you need Access All Awkward on your summer TBR!

[ram (taylor's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

basking in my sadness bcs it's over. for like the third time but wtvr.

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 3rd book of the Bella Fisher series, we see Bella and her friends taking their exams, and then later head off to a musical festival for the weekend (which doesn`t end up being the celebration they wanted after they decide to protest against a sexist artist who`s performing, they come up against a trio of mean girls and Bella and Tegan have to work as litter pickers to afford tickets). Bella is such a relatable narrator, and I found myself nodding in agreement to some of the things she says about exams, and her feelings afterwards. She`s also very funny in the way she describes all the embarrassing situations she gets into (My favourite by far in this book was the scene where she meets her boyfriend Adam`s parents), and her pop culture references and puns made me smile a lot. Bella and Adam`s relationship is so nice, and I love how supportive they are of each other, which also applies to the dynamic between Bella and her best friends Tegan and Rachel. While I don`t think Bella would necessarily agree, I`m an even huger fan of her big sister Jo than all of those- she has a brilliant sense of humour that makes me laugh every time she appears, and even though she teases Bella I love how much she cares for her deep down. I absolutely loved the music festival setting as it`s been ages since I`ve read a book with one, and they`re always such fun. I also loved being able to cheer on the girls with their campaign, and I desperately wanted them to succeed. Definitely my favourite of the series to date. 4.5/5

[Bookundermybed · Rating 1 out of 5]

How many books will I have to go through before I read something decent? 😭

Bella is back and this time she is really excited to go to the music festival, Rebelrocks, the only problem, her friend Rachel only has two tickets. Together with her friend Tegan, they get jobs…picking up trash. Will Bella be able to combat the mean girl, a sexist band and most of all, her fear of love?

I mean, this sounds like a good synopsis…how bad can it truly be?
HORRIFIC, APPARENTLY.
So, everyone has their own taste but unfortunately I don’t like books that involve a lot of second hand embarrassment and that is the main and only plot.

So the story starts where Bella is failing her exams but it’s fine because she has hot Adam (who is one of the only slightly sensible characters in here and is actually a nice guy (don’t know why he’d date Bella though)). Then Rachel, her friend gets two tickets to Rebelrock so Tegan and Bella decide to both take up jobs as litter pickers to see the festival. Whilst this is happening The Session (a band) puts out sexist merch and they start a petition against it.

Then they get to the festival and it’s a lot of picking up litter, working on their project against The Session, setting up tents and all the festival stuff peeps do. There is also a lot of incidents with…the portaloos…I know right…the portaloos?! There also seems to be some kind of thing about crazy costumes (lobster and lemur) and it was all just terrible.

There are also some mean girls who are the worst and so cliché and everything ends up all hunky dory at the end. It was so annoying. I did appreciate the bits of feminism but I couldn’t connect with it. Also, all the hot Adam bits were not great and I did not like Rach in this book. I feel bad for Bella but she’s not awkward, she’s just plain dumb and I can’t, I literally want to slaughter her the whole way through the book. COMMON. SENSE. BELLA.

Anyway, it wasn’t my cup of tea and I’m so excited that I am finally done with this series that ruined my last brain cells and my sanity. 😩💕

[Abi-Lou Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing! Cheered me up when I needed it! Loved reading about the festival, inspired me even more to go to one! 😝

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the final of the trilogy that has brought me many laughs as Bella's antics take many twists and turns, mostly embarrassing ones, we see how her along with best friends Rach and Tegan all look forward to the end of their GCSEs and head to a festival where they take on their once loved now most hated famous boy band, The Session as they treat their fans horrifically and sexist language slurs fly too.



But first Bella must meet her own boyfriend, Adam's parents!



However at the festival nothing goes straight forward from run ins with old boyfriend Luke along with his frankly odd singer girlfriend Ska, the girls they admire who they often see around turn out to be backstabbing bullies and Jo Bella's sister be their chaperone at the festival which surprises the group, this festival is full of drama not to mention starting their own petition against the session band and supporting Adam Bella's boyfriend and his band too! Full of feminism fuelled fighting young girls taking on sexism and showing what true friendship is all about!

[Emily Morton-Standley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second time reading the book and I would 100% read it a third. It’s a nice little break from reality allowing me to relax and escape to the fictional world.
It has some romance in it which always a bonus and I love how it also has the worries of exams and such intertwined among the fun of the festival.
Also I really believe that what the trio did (as you will find out) is really brave and helps allow young people to believe that they also have control over how others can choose to live their lives.
Also I think there’s some more books in the series but I can’t be too sure?
E xxx

[Cm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beth Garrod has created a book that is entertaining and hilarious while relating it to the common struggles of a teenager. This book is the funniest book I've read in a long time. I recommend that all teens should read it. I love how the relationships between Bella and her friends and Adam are a focal point in this book. I feel that the whole trilogy is absolutely amazing. It is great how they related this book to a festival situation as no other YA book I read was written like that. For me, I am so glad I was given this trilogy to read as I couldn't ask for a better summer read

[Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books follow the story of teenager Bella Fisher who is just trying to get through life, dealing with school, ex boyfriends, her mother, annoying sister and most importantly her best friends. This particular books follows Bella and her friends as they try to find a way into the most amazing festival of the summer! Not only is the festival the event of the year but one of their favourite bands ever are playing and they just have to be there to witness it first hand. However when it comes to light that the band they are totally in love with have been selling sexist merchandise as well as posting sexist tweets, the girls take it upon themselves to put a stop to it and see that the band doesn’t get to play at the festival, but with an army of fans of the bands side, will the words of 3 teenage girls really a make a difference?

This is personally my favourite book in this series. The fact that this book mainly takes place at a music festival makes it unique and stand out from a lot of other teenage drama books out there. A must read!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad to say that I loved it.
This was a great way to end an awesome series, one which genuinely made me laugh out loud and, during which I always had a smile on my face. I just wish that more peole would read and fall in love with Bella and her friends like I did.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Garrod's books in the future.

[Holly Eastwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

took a break from this book ! but read it within a few days in feb :)
it was a really easy and nice read, and i enjoyed the ending and all the characters throughout. the ending made me very happy for bella, adam, tegan and rachel !!

left the first two in canada, would definitely read again.. but i have too many books 🤣

[M00plays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella Fisher is literally me. I loved the Awkwardness and awful but hilarious jokes in this book. I will deffo pick up more Beth Garrod books!

[Trini C · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great summer read!

[Flooodle · Rating 4 out of 5]

took a while to get into but hilariously funny when you did!

[Cecilie Johansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

so incredibly entertaining and lovely. the book had be laugh, tear up and whine. loved it!

[Iga K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favourite one out of the trilogy

[Nathalie Hyams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so much

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want to go to a festival now

[EdenB15 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series which i read in like a few days all of the books. Recommend to tween girls as i think their is a age limit on it tbh

[gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

kinda boring ngl

[Chloe]

Quick, fun, intriguing and relatable. Everything I wanted.

[_only._.books_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

To była świetna rozrywka! Na wakacje totalny must-have! Klimat festiwalu w tej książce>>>🌞🏕🎤🎶🍹

[Maeve Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Loved this book when I was younger and reread it for summer, and it had me giggling!♡

[Katy Gilroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally love YA but this cringe to the extreme; cute story but yeah just a LOT

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun and light hearted , left me wanting to read the others

[Bethreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is for young teens this just wasn't for me at all

[Isabel :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ngl I thought it would be a typical teen romance book and i only got it at the library because i didn’t have enough books and didn’t want to get bored, but despite some of the slightly cringey texts and a little bit unrealist bits about the sexist band (i don’t think that a band would be that openly sexist and still have that many supporters, maybe there could be some slightly more hidden digs) it was a good book! made me laugh so much at parts and they have a very good friendship. i enjoyed this light- hearted, easy read and the situations she gets in are so FUNNY HAHHAHA, and i love how the funny scenes are written like i would actually think it! at the end it was a bit predictable but overall great book! also i like that they put sexism and how men and people with higher status get away with it in there, i didn’t expect that but it is a good topic and i like that it was still about other things and actually funny! also i liked that they included the realities of a protest/ being openly against sexism

fav scenes without spoiling what’s good about them: maths exam, condom being thrown at her, DINNER AT HER BOYFRIENDS HOUSE, waking up early for the first time, the moment when her alarm ruins everything and FESTIVAL TOILETS

any 🏳️‍🌈⁉️: no, which is a shame bc it’s a modern book

[Katie Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed at: http://www.queenofteenfiction.co.uk/2...

Plot
In Bella's latest adventure, she's stressing over her exams before spending some of her summer working at the RebelRocks music festival in her town. During the festival, Bella and her friends find themselves with even more work to do. They want the world's hottest new boyband, The Session, to apologise for treating their fans, and women in general, like dirt.

Characters
The love I have in my heart for these characters is unreal. Bella is utterly hilarious and her narration of the story had me laughing so much. The situations she finds herself in! It's impossible not to love her and her group of friends. Their friendship is always such a central plot within this series and it's focused heavily upon in this book too. I adore Rach and Teegan as much as I adore Bella.

Bella's family are once again amazing in this third book. Their group chat is definitely a highlight in the story. What's especially great about them is that they always work through things together and stand by one and other. It makes for some lovely, heart-warming scenes.

Reasons to Love
- REALISTIC TEENAGE CHARACTERS. I never like it when YA characters come across as older than they should be, unless there's a specific plot which revolves around them having to be maturer from a young age. So I adore the fact that Beth writes her teen characters in such a perfect way. Yes, there's a lot of caps lock, and yes the characters shorten or, in Bella's case, join words, and yes they use plenty of references. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT YA CHARACTERS SHOULD DO. It makes them so much more authentic that way.

- HEALTHY ROMANCE. I can't write this review without giving a shoutout to the way relationships are handled in this series. Yay for healthy relationships in YA that are positive and in which the characters deal with their problems in a good way! There were so many moments between Bella and Adam that made me want to hug this book.

- ONE LINERS THAT MAKE YOU HOWL. There are lots of lines I want to put in this review but won't because A) this is a spoiler-free zone and B) you absolutely have to read them for yourself. There were just so many little things that had me in tears.

Overall Thoughts
I don't want to say too much plot-wise, but I just need to say that I couldn't be more happy with the very ending of the story. Because it's not what I expected to happen, but is exactly what I was hoping for. Again, it goes to show how much it pays off to be realistic in YA stories, especially contemporary ones. Despite the humorous nature of this book, it deals with some very real issues that we have in our society in general, and it also deals with problems that young people who are taking exams and worrying about the future have to face It demonstrates that it doesn't matter if things don't happen as you planned, you can still make things work. And this book manages to do all of that as well as being perfectly hilarious. I couldn't ask for more in a YA story.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gets a firm 4.5 stars! This one focused on Bella going to a music festival and camping there and I really love this setting! I also enjoyed the plot of them trying to remove the Session because of sexism, and trying to deal with the hate they were getting because of this. It was written in a realistic way, with realistic mean girls (they were obviously written well because they made me want to yell at them. Particularly when they messed in things that WEREN’T THEIRS). The characters I love continued to be amazing, and some of the situations that Bella got herself into were so tense and awkward (but in a good way of course). So, if you really want a well plotted, funny easy read, I urge you to pick this up!
Also Adam and Bella are so cute, and I’m really sad I can’t see more of them in another book. And I love Rach, Bella and Tegan’s friendship dynamic, and again I’m so sad I can’t see it for another book!!!
Overall, I love this series SO much!! I think my favourite is the second book, Truly Madly Awkward but honestly I love them all, and picking a favourite is SO hard!