#LOVEOZYA :: It’s Not You, It’s Me :: Gabrielle Williams

Holly Fitzgerald has inexplicably woken up inside the body of an LA teenager called Trinity Byrne in 1980 – trapping Trinity in Holly’s forty-year-old body back in Melbourne, 2020.

Mind. Officially. Blown.

Holly finds herself navigating a brand-new body, family and cute boy next door – not to mention rock band that might just make it, and potential kidnapper. Meanwhile, lies intersect with truth, hurtling both Holly and Trinity towards a dangerous fate as the connections between them grow deeper and stranger than either could have ever imagined.

Hello! Happy Tuesday! It’s the last day of August today (I know, honestly!) and I’m here to sneak in one more review for a gorgeous #LoveOzYA book that came out today, Gabrielle Williams’ It’s Not You, It’s Me, which I devoured in the space of about 24 hours last week.

I can’t put my finger on exactly what it was but I just got along so well with this book! It sucked me in right from the very start, and the vibe and the pacing were both perfect – I honestly just had to keep reading and find out what would happen next!

I’ve seen this described as Freaky Friday meets Pretty Little Liars, and I can’t quite confirm or deny, having seen neither of those (I know!), but I can tell you that this was a lot of fun. I thought the voice was great – I liked the way that Holly’s shock at finding herself in another time (and body!) and desire to get home were also balanced with the fact that it was kind of working out ok for her. I really enjoyed seeing her try to unravel what was going on. I loved the connection between Holly and Trinity, and the way they get to know eachother, even though they are 40 years apart.

There are also some great side characters in this one that tbh I’d love to know more about! In particular I loved Brother Orange, thought next door neighbour Lewis was adorable, and really want to hang out with Susie Sioux’s mum, Mrs Watanabe.

While this is for the most part a fun and snappy read, there are definitely some more tender and thoughtful moments too. The idea of Holly having a second chance at being a teen, but bringing with her some of the perspective of an extra 24 years of life experience, as well as her thinking about some other events in her real Melbourne 40 year old life, gave some bits a kind of nostalgic feeling for me. I suspect this might be partly because I’m the same age as Melbourne Holly – I wonder whether a reader closer in age to Trinity would feel the same way?

In the middle of a pandemic, where the world is feeling a bit upside down, and we’re in lockdown and having trouble keeping track of what day (month or year?) it is, this just felt like the perfect read. Big thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending it my way!

xo Bron
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It’s Not You, It’s Me by Gabrielle Williams
Out now from Allen and Unwin
Source: Free copy sent to me by Allen and Unwin (thank you!). All views are my own.
Category: YA time shift fantasy, magical realism
Format: Paperback (275 pages)
Australian RRP: $19.99

It’s Not You, It’s Me on Goodreads.