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Not About a Boy
Euphoria meets Girl in Pieces in this coming-of-age story of a girl trying to put a grief-stricken past behind her, only to be startled by the discovery of a long-lost sister who puts into question everything she thought she knew.
Amélie Cœur has never known what it truly means to be happy.
She thought she’d found happiness once, in a love that ended in tragedy and nearly sent her over the edge. Now, at seventeen, Mel is beginning to piece her life back together. Under the supervision of Laurelle Child Services, the exclusive foster care agency that raised her, Mel is sober and living with a new family among Manhattan’s elite. It’s her last chance at adoption before she ages out of the system and she promised, this time, she’ll try.
But a casual relationship with a boy is turning into something she never intended for it to be, causing small cracks in her carefully constructed walls. Then the sister she has no memory of contacts Mel, unearthing complicated feelings about the past and what could have been.
As the anniversary of the worst day of her life approaches, Mel must weather the rising tides of grief and depression before she loses herself, and those close to her, all over again.
Amélie Cœur has never known what it truly means to be happy.
She thought she’d found happiness once, in a love that ended in tragedy and nearly sent her over the edge. Now, at seventeen, Mel is beginning to piece her life back together. Under the supervision of Laurelle Child Services, the exclusive foster care agency that raised her, Mel is sober and living with a new family among Manhattan’s elite. It’s her last chance at adoption before she ages out of the system and she promised, this time, she’ll try.
But a casual relationship with a boy is turning into something she never intended for it to be, causing small cracks in her carefully constructed walls. Then the sister she has no memory of contacts Mel, unearthing complicated feelings about the past and what could have been.
As the anniversary of the worst day of her life approaches, Mel must weather the rising tides of grief and depression before she loses herself, and those close to her, all over again.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2024
208 people are currently reading
7089 people want to read
About the author
Myah Hollis
3 books61 followersMyah Hollis is a Pennsylvanian writer living in Los Angeles. She specializes in Sad Girl Lit, mainly due to her chronic fascination with psychology. Not About a Boy is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
August 21, 2024
3/5 ⭐️
- This is a coming of age story that is so needed because the characters go through real hardships in this story. So often you read stories about high schoolers that are fluffy and fun which is great because those are needed too, but it’s tough to find books set in high school where the characters are really struggling. My younger self would have really resonated with these characters.
- The pacing of the story wasn’t as fast paced as I usually read. If you enjoy descriptive poetic writing, you’ll love this book. That’s not my favorite style of writing so I found myself wanting to skim the pages at time.
- The cover is gorgeous and really portrays the depth you feel in this story! The characters go THROUGH IT. I feel like everyone reading this will relate to the story in some way.
- This is a coming of age story that is so needed because the characters go through real hardships in this story. So often you read stories about high schoolers that are fluffy and fun which is great because those are needed too, but it’s tough to find books set in high school where the characters are really struggling. My younger self would have really resonated with these characters.
- The pacing of the story wasn’t as fast paced as I usually read. If you enjoy descriptive poetic writing, you’ll love this book. That’s not my favorite style of writing so I found myself wanting to skim the pages at time.
- The cover is gorgeous and really portrays the depth you feel in this story! The characters go THROUGH IT. I feel like everyone reading this will relate to the story in some way.
September 24, 2025
From the gorgeous cover art to the book being described as Euphoria meets Girl in Pieces has me so STOKED to read this! ♥️
May 25, 2024
When I was 19, I went through a breakup that nearly destroyed me. I stopped eating, I stopped engaging, I was so sad all the time that even just going through the motions was more energy than I could muster. The thing was, it wasn’t about my breakup, not really. That was just the final straw, the catalyst of dealing with all the emotions and thoughts that had always been present. It was this moment that forced me to deal with everything I felt, to know that change was necessary, to acknowledge those thoughts and to learn how to manage them.
In Not About a Boy, Hollis pulls back the curtain on all those thoughts and raw emotions. Because it’s “not about a boy.” It’s about being okay existing, about feeling right in your own skin, about being willing to try knowing failure is an option.
This story was so beautifully and devastatingly written. There’s experiences everyone can relate to and some that will resonate with only a select few. I wish I’d had stories like this during that time in my life, so I could know I was not alone, and I hope it finds the readers who need to hear that everything will be okay.
Thank you to Myah Hollis for putting words to all those nameless feelings and emotions. For sharing Mel’s story with all of us. I cannot recommend this remarkable debut enough!
Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Teen for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
In Not About a Boy, Hollis pulls back the curtain on all those thoughts and raw emotions. Because it’s “not about a boy.” It’s about being okay existing, about feeling right in your own skin, about being willing to try knowing failure is an option.
This story was so beautifully and devastatingly written. There’s experiences everyone can relate to and some that will resonate with only a select few. I wish I’d had stories like this during that time in my life, so I could know I was not alone, and I hope it finds the readers who need to hear that everything will be okay.
Thank you to Myah Hollis for putting words to all those nameless feelings and emotions. For sharing Mel’s story with all of us. I cannot recommend this remarkable debut enough!
Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Teen for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
December 4, 2023
Staggeringly honest and emotionally-complex, NOT ABOUT A BOY paints a portrait of a girl on the cusp of adulthood with tenderness and tenacity.
Deftly intertwining lyrical prose and searing wit, Hollis writes for the girls who've been lost and understand the grueling task of finding oneself all over again.
Deftly intertwining lyrical prose and searing wit, Hollis writes for the girls who've been lost and understand the grueling task of finding oneself all over again.
April 26, 2025
“it was a secret place. it wasn’t but it was. no one was there at that hour. there was no reason to be because we were there, and it must have been made for us. i called it eden, and like its namesake, i knew it couldn’t last. i knew there’d come a day when i could never go back. but for now, we’d found paradise.”
March 1, 2025
i wish middle school me had this book ❤️🩹
July 2, 2024
I had high expectations of this book, however from the top the story is very slow. I hoped the pace would go up, but it didn't. There are lots of names and things going on, making it hard to define a red line in the story.
I did like the realization part in part two the best, but overall I felt like the storyline was too slow paced and blunt. Therefore I give this a 2 star rating
I did like the realization part in part two the best, but overall I felt like the storyline was too slow paced and blunt. Therefore I give this a 2 star rating
August 21, 2024
Yup. This was just as beautiful as I knew it would be 💙
Not About a Boy is just as it’s title states. It’s a YA coming of self novel focused on a complex and loveable character named Mel as she navigates love, loss, mental health, friendship, family, and the knowledge of who she is and what she deserves.
I wanted nothing but the best for Mel and every single soul she encountered- it’s very rare that I love every character in a book 😅
Not About a Boy is just as it’s title states. It’s a YA coming of self novel focused on a complex and loveable character named Mel as she navigates love, loss, mental health, friendship, family, and the knowledge of who she is and what she deserves.
I wanted nothing but the best for Mel and every single soul she encountered- it’s very rare that I love every character in a book 😅
December 7, 2024
This was an ok read for me. Definitely deals with some hard topics, but for me they were just told in such a blunt way that I couldn't really muster up much emotion for the characters.
April 16, 2025
Gathering my thoughts…
April 10, 2024
I. 👏 LOVED. 👏 THIS. 👏 BOOK.👏
1000% euphoria vibes. Hayden is SWOON. But this book IS NOT ABOUT A BOY. I laughed, I cried. In fact Myah Hollis has this incredible ability to write lines that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time.
This book also had some elements which reminded me of It's Kind Of A Funny Story, which was an all time favorite of mine for many years.
A must read of 2024. Be ready for an emotional gut punch. Bring tissues and have ur HEA rom com ready to read afterwards.
1000% euphoria vibes. Hayden is SWOON. But this book IS NOT ABOUT A BOY. I laughed, I cried. In fact Myah Hollis has this incredible ability to write lines that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time.
This book also had some elements which reminded me of It's Kind Of A Funny Story, which was an all time favorite of mine for many years.
A must read of 2024. Be ready for an emotional gut punch. Bring tissues and have ur HEA rom com ready to read afterwards.
August 18, 2025
This book was everything. The writing was absolutely beautiful. I need a physical copy, so that I can keep my favorite quotes forever. It’s been a while since I've read a book with such great character development. I love Amélie so much and I truly wish she was real so that I could give her a hug🥺 Babygirl went through it, but I’m so glad I had the privilege of being apart of her journey. I can’t wait to recommend this book to everyone I know🫶🏽
January 11, 2025
All I have to say is this book was raw, filled with emotions that I can relate to. Emotional roller coaster for sure. 🩵
February 12, 2025
It was good until it wasn't 😭
February 18, 2025
if i could re-read this book for the first time right now i would omg. definitely my favorite book so far this year
September 24, 2025
Good book with very heavy topics for it to be a YA book. It focuses on identity, trauma, and mental health. A teen trying to navigate life in her own body while struggling.
The pacing was slow.
3.5 ⭐️
The pacing was slow.
3.5 ⭐️
July 16, 2024
Beautiful writing and the descriptions are so vivid / clever ❤️ reminded me of Euphoria / Amazon’s or die trying / gossip girl
Read
January 7, 2025disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
"By the time I was fifteen, I’d let them down more times than I could count. It wasn’t enough to be accepted. I wanted to be understood. I wanted someone to see how hard I was trying and tell me it wasn’t all me. That I was this way due to a series of factors and circumstances, not all of which were within my control. There was one person who understood me completely, but it came at a cost I couldn’t afford to pay. When I was sixteen, I wanted to disappear. I learned there’s an art to it, and I became a master. It took everything they had to reach into the darkness and pull me out. And now, at seventeen, I want peace."
This was a tender, heart-wrenching coming-of-age tale about Amélie, who is 17, sober, grieving, in a situation-ship with a boy named Hayden, and navigating her last hurrah in hopefully getting adopted before she "ages out" of the foster care system. She goes to therapy, confronts challenging feelings about both her past and present, and on top of all this, her long-lost sister who she does not remember comes back into her life.
I was so incredibly moved by this story, and I read it in one night because I was immediately quite invested in and cared for Amélie, who is clearly feeling a bit defeated and distrustful of those around her. I can only imagine how let down and abandoned she felt, and Myah Hollis illustrates such a vividly poignant picture of the both sadness and malaise that Amélie ebbs in and out of.
There's a layer of devastation that Amélie comes to terms with towards the end of the novel, and I felt so much for her. To feel as if you have never had control or as if you never stood a chance, and then to have that be confirmed and spoken aloud? Woof. That f^&%ing cuts deep. I loved the ending though, and I would easily watch this if it was optioned and adapted for a streaming film.
Quotations that stood out to me:
Richards gave me my first journal when I was seven. He said the least I could do if I wouldn’t talk to him was talk to myself. It did help, but it made me anxious to expel my thoughts onto a page that anyone could stumble upon. I’d fill notebooks only to bury them in the bottom of trash cans, pages ripped from their binding. Eventually, I stopped writing altogether.
Children know when they’re supposed to be the tape holding something broken together. It’s a horrible position to be in. “Kids don’t fix bad marriages. Even incredible ones like me.” Hayden smiles. I hate that he has to go through this. I know parents do their best, but for so many kids, they’re the first source of trauma. They’re the first people to teach you who you are and what you’re worth. For so long, you’re only someone’s child. It’s all you know how to be, and it’s supposed to be easy because life gets harder later. Parents are supposed to make it easy.
How much I invested in hope until it was gone, leaving me bankrupt. Even in the midst of my grieving, I’d anticipated a reprieve. I thought if happiness was fleeting, unhappiness must abide by the same rules. But if life can be this anarchic, I understand all too well the desire to sink. Or float. Or simply fade away.
Meeting him was coming home to a place I’d never been. A layer of dust and thick cobwebs. Doors hanging on rusted hinges. Sheets tossed over furniture. Chipped china in glass-fronted cabinets. I stopped in the doorway, wondering how it could be both familiar and foreign. Like returning to a past life.
There’s too much weight. I’ve never felt it all at once like this. All the little compartments of my mind have opened simultaneously and dumped their contents on me. So much love woven through so much loss. I’m embarrassed by how much stuff I’ve allowed myself to accumulate. No wonder my shoulders ache. No wonder taking on even the smallest emotional load feels like too much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death and Toxic relationship
"By the time I was fifteen, I’d let them down more times than I could count. It wasn’t enough to be accepted. I wanted to be understood. I wanted someone to see how hard I was trying and tell me it wasn’t all me. That I was this way due to a series of factors and circumstances, not all of which were within my control. There was one person who understood me completely, but it came at a cost I couldn’t afford to pay. When I was sixteen, I wanted to disappear. I learned there’s an art to it, and I became a master. It took everything they had to reach into the darkness and pull me out. And now, at seventeen, I want peace."
This was a tender, heart-wrenching coming-of-age tale about Amélie, who is 17, sober, grieving, in a situation-ship with a boy named Hayden, and navigating her last hurrah in hopefully getting adopted before she "ages out" of the foster care system. She goes to therapy, confronts challenging feelings about both her past and present, and on top of all this, her long-lost sister who she does not remember comes back into her life.
I was so incredibly moved by this story, and I read it in one night because I was immediately quite invested in and cared for Amélie, who is clearly feeling a bit defeated and distrustful of those around her. I can only imagine how let down and abandoned she felt, and Myah Hollis illustrates such a vividly poignant picture of the both sadness and malaise that Amélie ebbs in and out of.
There's a layer of devastation that Amélie comes to terms with towards the end of the novel, and I felt so much for her. To feel as if you have never had control or as if you never stood a chance, and then to have that be confirmed and spoken aloud? Woof. That f^&%ing cuts deep. I loved the ending though, and I would easily watch this if it was optioned and adapted for a streaming film.
Quotations that stood out to me:
Richards gave me my first journal when I was seven. He said the least I could do if I wouldn’t talk to him was talk to myself. It did help, but it made me anxious to expel my thoughts onto a page that anyone could stumble upon. I’d fill notebooks only to bury them in the bottom of trash cans, pages ripped from their binding. Eventually, I stopped writing altogether.
Children know when they’re supposed to be the tape holding something broken together. It’s a horrible position to be in. “Kids don’t fix bad marriages. Even incredible ones like me.” Hayden smiles. I hate that he has to go through this. I know parents do their best, but for so many kids, they’re the first source of trauma. They’re the first people to teach you who you are and what you’re worth. For so long, you’re only someone’s child. It’s all you know how to be, and it’s supposed to be easy because life gets harder later. Parents are supposed to make it easy.
How much I invested in hope until it was gone, leaving me bankrupt. Even in the midst of my grieving, I’d anticipated a reprieve. I thought if happiness was fleeting, unhappiness must abide by the same rules. But if life can be this anarchic, I understand all too well the desire to sink. Or float. Or simply fade away.
Meeting him was coming home to a place I’d never been. A layer of dust and thick cobwebs. Doors hanging on rusted hinges. Sheets tossed over furniture. Chipped china in glass-fronted cabinets. I stopped in the doorway, wondering how it could be both familiar and foreign. Like returning to a past life.
There’s too much weight. I’ve never felt it all at once like this. All the little compartments of my mind have opened simultaneously and dumped their contents on me. So much love woven through so much loss. I’m embarrassed by how much stuff I’ve allowed myself to accumulate. No wonder my shoulders ache. No wonder taking on even the smallest emotional load feels like too much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death and Toxic relationship
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2024
Excellent coming-of-age book about Melie trying to cope with a loss, a boyfriend she keeps at a distance, and aging out of the foster care system soon. When she finds out she has an identical twin sister it’s too much for her, and Melie starts spiraling taking drugs again and keeping everyone away. When she goes to a treatment center, she wonders if she will ever find a way to be herself. Does she even want to?
February 21, 2025
it’s 11:50 pm and I’ve just finished the book so my option may change later but I this book left me with a longing for my 17 year old self I wish she had this book. It speaks so open and truthfully about mental illness and idk it made me feel as if she took a look in my brain and took little pieces of my feelings that I couldn’t out into words. I felt seen by this book and I’m so happy I got to read it. I didn’t love the ending however the ending plus the acknowledgments for some reason felt like the perfect way to end it.
August 9, 2024
2.5/5 - I’m sad because I really wanted to like the book because the cover is STUNNING, but I was bored the entire time. The pacing was so slow for majority of the book. And there were too many characters to keep track of. The FMC was all over the place with her emotions, which made sense towards the end, but it was hard for me to connect to what she had been through. And I was confused at the ending and disappointed.
August 26, 2024
no idea why Euphoria was mentioned as any comparison to this book.
July 22, 2025
Was in fact about a boy lol.
But it was more than just that, it was Amelie finding herself after loss. Wanting more after not wanting anything at all. Accepting love when she felt undeserving. Letting go when she held on too much. Healing when all she did was hurt.
When I first saw this book on Pinterest, I picked it up because the cover captivated me, but as I turned the page Amelie drew me in. Her story, her figuring out, her healing, her accepting and learning to live with borderline personality disorder.
Complex characters always do it for me and I lost sleep because I was about to go to war for Amelie. Hollis beautifully coined a flawed, struggling, trying character and that made her beautiful.
With so many gems and nuggets littered through each page, I found myself enamored. Just to leave you with one and by far my favorite…
“Life. The way we navigate it as women. As Black women. It’s different. It takes incredible resilience and a strong sense of self. The things you’ve been through, they’re part of your story, but they’re not the sum of your identity. You have to plant your identity deep enough for it to take root because the world will try to define you. To tell you who you are and what you’re worth. It isn’t always easy to stay grounded in what you know to be true. You have to remind yourself constantly. No one knows you the way you do.”
But it was more than just that, it was Amelie finding herself after loss. Wanting more after not wanting anything at all. Accepting love when she felt undeserving. Letting go when she held on too much. Healing when all she did was hurt.
When I first saw this book on Pinterest, I picked it up because the cover captivated me, but as I turned the page Amelie drew me in. Her story, her figuring out, her healing, her accepting and learning to live with borderline personality disorder.
Complex characters always do it for me and I lost sleep because I was about to go to war for Amelie. Hollis beautifully coined a flawed, struggling, trying character and that made her beautiful.
With so many gems and nuggets littered through each page, I found myself enamored. Just to leave you with one and by far my favorite…
“Life. The way we navigate it as women. As Black women. It’s different. It takes incredible resilience and a strong sense of self. The things you’ve been through, they’re part of your story, but they’re not the sum of your identity. You have to plant your identity deep enough for it to take root because the world will try to define you. To tell you who you are and what you’re worth. It isn’t always easy to stay grounded in what you know to be true. You have to remind yourself constantly. No one knows you the way you do.”
May 29, 2025
So, I picked up Not About a Boy not really knowing what to expect, but I ended up really liking it. It’s not just some cheesy romance (even though the title kinda tricks you lol). It’s more about figuring out who you are and dealing with stuff like friendships, growing up, and all the drama that comes with it.
The main character is super relatable—like, she’s awkward sometimes, makes dumb choices, but you still root for her. The writing is chill, not too try-hard or boring, and it actually feels like how real people talk.
Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it dragged a little in the middle, but it picked up again toward the end. Definitely worth a read if you’re into stories about real life, with a bit of humor and heart.
The main character is super relatable—like, she’s awkward sometimes, makes dumb choices, but you still root for her. The writing is chill, not too try-hard or boring, and it actually feels like how real people talk.
Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it dragged a little in the middle, but it picked up again toward the end. Definitely worth a read if you’re into stories about real life, with a bit of humor and heart.
January 25, 2025
(did this on audio - first attempt in years from the last audiobook I tried - still don't know if audio is for me; narrator voice put me out of the story a bit)
I liked the tone and pacing of this novel - it did drag a bit IMO but I felt that really sold the voice of the main character Mel & what she was going through. I really appreciated the representation for teens and therapy and how working through their emotions & thoughts can benefit them. Mel dealt with a lot of trauma in her 17 yrs & she was learning how to grapple with that.
The cover caught my eye first & then a blurb mentioned it was like Euphoria, so that's why I wanted to read it. I don't usually read YA anymore but this was perfect to read for my Lit & Related Materials for Young Adults course I'm taking in grad school. I could see this story being adapted for the screen & would watch! I would definitely read this author again.
I liked the tone and pacing of this novel - it did drag a bit IMO but I felt that really sold the voice of the main character Mel & what she was going through. I really appreciated the representation for teens and therapy and how working through their emotions & thoughts can benefit them. Mel dealt with a lot of trauma in her 17 yrs & she was learning how to grapple with that.
The cover caught my eye first & then a blurb mentioned it was like Euphoria, so that's why I wanted to read it. I don't usually read YA anymore but this was perfect to read for my Lit & Related Materials for Young Adults course I'm taking in grad school. I could see this story being adapted for the screen & would watch! I would definitely read this author again.
October 2, 2025
Let me start by saying how much I adore this cover.
Now that that's been said: I picked this book up because I've been feeling depressed myself, and I felt something like this would be right up my alley. I was right. Reading this felt cathartic, in some ways, and the fact that this is a debut novel makes it even more special. And yeah, I almost started to cry at the end.
Myah Hollis has a new fan in me for life.
Now that that's been said: I picked this book up because I've been feeling depressed myself, and I felt something like this would be right up my alley. I was right. Reading this felt cathartic, in some ways, and the fact that this is a debut novel makes it even more special. And yeah, I almost started to cry at the end.
Myah Hollis has a new fan in me for life.
March 28, 2025
I loved this book. It’s the sort of book I wish I’d read when I was a teenager. Like the title says, this book is not about a boy. It’s a story of self discovery. There are so many well fleshed out characters and such strong depictions of friendship, substance abuse, and mental illness. A great contemporary novel I’d recommend to any teen or young adult.
October 1, 2024
Audio. 3.5 This was an interesting listen. I almost stopped about 30% on, but persevered and am glad I did. A coming of age story, where the main character grew up in the foster system and had a lot of trauma, the novel followed her as she tries to move forward.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews