My Week with Him: Seven days. Two best friends. One chance to fall in love ...

Product Information

To win an argument with a friend, for instance, I ask how many drivers there are in Sunderland (my friends are cool). “Around 67% of people in Sunderland used a car or van to travel to work, according to the 2011 UK census,” ChatGPT merrily tells me. Great! But wait. I can’t find that statistic anywhere in the actual UK census, and it’s an alarmingly specific number for ChatGPT – which isn’t able to look up information online – to have memorised.

Which is true enough, though just like my interactions with real physiotherapists, I promptly forget about the exercises in the afternoon when the pain goes away and do absolutely nothing to prevent a recurrence. One improvement on a real physio, though: ChatGPT doesn’t arrange a follow-up session to scold me for my laziness. Wednesday

VoiceGalley advance audio editions are offered here as an added option outside of print galleys and e-galleys. VoiceGalley advance audio editions save trees and cut down on screentime. Then there’s Malachai, why would he not want Nikki to chase her dreams? While I thought her being supported financially by a music career was a long shot, you shouldn’t be making decisions on the rest of your life based on what a boy thinks you should do. I heard through the grapevine that Joya was quite nervous for how "My Week With Him" would be received. I totally understand why, it's a lot grittier than her previous work - a lot more swearing etc, but I found that it made it more believable. Having lived through a difficult mother/daughter relationship throughout my teens, I found "My Week With Him" so relatable & realistic. Nikki was forever in a state of limbo with her mother, never knowing where she stood with her. Teenage homelessness is a real issue many young people with insecure living arrangements face and it would be good to see this covered in a YA story. But Nikki doesn’t seem at all that bothered that she’s at risk of homelessness, and for parts of the book is technically without a permanent residence. The whole thing hangs on her either getting a miracle dream job or living with the family of her boyfriend. Both very convenient safety nets. Goffney’s ability to delve into such complex and nuanced themes to create a compelling, three dimensional story always has me in awe—and My Week With Him is no different. Taking a slightly darker tone than her previous books, the story centres around eighteen year old Nikki and the toxic relationship with her abusive mother.

Joya Goffney somehow always manages to mix just the right amount of drama, difficult family relationships and young love and I just eat it up every time. Nikki’s relationship with her mother is turbulent and heartbreaking but ultimately healing. I love the way it was handled, with a clear message on what’s normal and healthy, and with the mom having reasons but not excuses.Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free of charge for review purposes only. Receipt of a book does not guarantee a review or endorsement. Book Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Young Adult Contemporary

The odd thing about being handed a tool of unimaginable complexity and potential is that the blinking cursor stares at you just like any other, daring you to find something interesting to type. I feel as if I’m on a bad blind date where I’m expected to ask all the questions. nikki had already been planning to run away to start her music career, but after a particularly bad fight with her mom, she’s even more sure of this decision. but when her best friend, malachai, begs her to spend just one week with him to see if he can convince her to stay, she gives in. will this week give her the last push she needs to leave for good, or will she find a reason to stay? Hateful stuff. I try again, asking it to be more British, and get the same basic script read by a Hugh Grant impersonator: “Hello, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve actually kept this bench free for my chums who are in the beer queue. They’ll be with us in just a jiffy. Much obliged for your consideration!” Prompt engineering” is the name of the new skill these chatbots engender: the idea that there’s a particular technique to be learned with making requests of a generative AI. You can ask questions the way you would another person, but you’ll do better if you remember that it isn’t a person. So you need to ask questions in the right way to get the answers you want.

I decide to try to focus on queries that ChatGPT might do better at than Google – the sort of things you would expect someone with broad expertise to be able to answer off the top of their head. This took me on a rollercoaster of emotions; from squealing at the adorable-ness of the friends-to-lovers romance (Nikki + Mal forever), to the pain of reading about the family relationships, particularly Nikki's relationship with her mother. This book takes you through some incredibly complex and difficult family dynamics, particularly neglectful parenting, which is painful to read but I imagine something that will help a lot of people who can read this and feel seen. While there is forgiveness and understanding to be had within this book, I loved how it accepted that these people were not going to magically change overnight - it felt so real. Joya Goffney has done it again! Writing another wonderful story!! I always feel so incredibly seen when I read her books! The way she writes her characters and the romance is just so beautiful! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!