BOOK REVIEW: Mammoth

Mammoth by Jill Baguchinsky
Publication date: November 8^th, 2018

When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was intrigued. A book about a girl who’s into fashion and science? I’m in. I mean I at least have to see where this is going, right? Well, I ended up really enjoying it and basically binge-reading it in like a day (I can definitely say that that hasn’t happened in a very long time).  Mammoth is the story of Natalie, a plus-size fashion blogger with a passion for paleontology. She has just earned a scholarship to study and work at an actual archeological dig for a month under the supervision of some of her heroes. That’s when thing start to go awry. This is the story of Natalie’s troubles and triumphs (and damn does she go for gold on these) as her month progresses.

What I Liked:

• Natalie is confident in her geekiness. As she comes out of her shell, she realizes that it’s okay not to be perfect all the time; that she can have an off day.
  • Also, she does some courageously stupid things (but for science, so I have to approve).
• Okay, I just love Cody. He’s cute but also snarky. In my notes I verbatim described him as “a cute, snarky secret cowboy with high expectations for barbeque” and I mean, who wouldn’t love someone who falls into that category of person?
• Every chapter is broken up by a cute OOTD sketch which help to add some playful-ness to the novel. Also, the chapter headers are adorable little illustrations of numbers made out of bones.

What I Didn’t Like:

• Not many of the side character were fleshed out very far. A few even seemed like they were only included to be used as plot devices later on.
• I found Aunt Judy a questionable character. Maybe it’s just personal experience coloring my judgement, but I found the fact that she taught Natalie to use makeup as a mask a questionable decision on her part.
• Also, I thought there was going to be more geeky paleo facts. I was even here for it. Unfortunately, they only break the paleo facts out about twice, and it was usually to prove how ‘geeky’ Natalie could be.

Recap:

Overall, Mammoth is a cute story of a girl finding herself and going after dreams (and not taking no for an answer). It hits on some of my favorite topics: fashion, science, and of course, boys. Natalie can be a bit of a badass at times (especially when it’s for science), and I really enjoyed those moments. It was just the aftermath I didn’t agree with. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sweet coming-of-age story of a girl who is finding a balance between two very different worlds: fashion and science.

4/5 stars

xoxo, Bree

*Thank you, Edelweiss + and Turner Publishing for sending me an eARC*

Goodreads Link: Mammoth