Tulip Taylor

About the Book

Tulip Taylor is an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl. Well, as ordinary as it can get for a teen make-up vlogger. But when her mothers money-making schemes go one step too far, Tulip sees Hugh McManus’ survival TV show as her only escape. Set up with obstacles that are worse than forgetting to do half your make-up, worse than having a mother who tags you in her Instagram posts, worse than having your life turned into a reality TV show, Tulip is determined to show the world that she is better than a self-obsessed makeup addict. But what happens when things don’t go to plan?

To read or not to read…that is the question…

Tulip Taylor is a wonderful book about a girl who wants to be seen as a real person, not just “the girl with the pretty face”.

When analysing the cover, I had a feeling that this book would be about a girl who likes make-up and loves taking selfies. The phone on the right-hand side tells me that she's obsessed with technology, the pencil and books suggests that she likes to read and write. Pinecones and leaves give connotations of the idea that this book will have something to do with nature and wildlife. The five stars near her head gives me the idea that she wants to be / is a star. Teddy-bears on the cover imply that she has a kind heart or that she has a sweet spot for her old teddies. When looking at the picture of Tulip you can see that there are several layers of sketches / pencil marks this could show that Tulip wears several layers of / too much make-up or that there are several layers to her personality.

What I love about this book is that not everything always goes away you expect it to. Although this is a fiction book, it links back to reality by teaching us two lessons: 1) what goes around comes around. For example, Hector was a bully, he took the banter too far and in the end it was he who got kicked out. 2) not everything goes the way you expect it to but that’s life you have to get over it. I also love how Mainwaring took such a cliched character, (Girl = Make-up = Self-Obsessed = Dumb) and turned it around completely, (Make-up = Art = Creative = Smart).

This book is from the point of view of Tulip, with a couple of texts that Harvey sends to Hector (His brother) and Rollo (His friend). I loved reading these as they give you a brief insight into Harvey's world and his feelings about the situation he is in, but, it also gives you an insight into the way he is treated by others.

Overall, Tulip Taylor is a book I would definitely recommend because of the way it goes against the invisible rules of life such as the Girl= Make-up= Self-Obsessed= Dumb equation. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would rate it a definite 5 because it was an amazing read about not judging people and going against cliches. It is a book that I’d definitely recommend.

About the author

Anna Mainwaring is an amazing author as well as a part-time teacher at a girl’s school. Her debut book, The Lives and Loves of Jesobel Jones, is an incredible book that was written in 2015. After 3 years her next book Rebel with a cupcake was released in the U.S.A. When not teaching, writing or look after her daughters, she can be found searching for information.