And Actually...... by Denise Deegan

review by Maryom

Since Rachel has moved to Strandbrook College, her life has turned around. She now has real friends who she's grown to love and trust, and she's managed to put behind her the shameful things that have happened in the past. When she's lands a part in a TV medical drama, it feels like all her dreams are coming true but almost the first person she meets there is someone from her past, Rebecca French - and all the bad memories come flooding back...

And Actually... is the third in the Butterfly series and this time Rachel takes centre stage. Her story may be more 'everyday' than Sarah's or Alex's but none the less devastating in its impact. Bullying is an issue that affects many people's lives and here it's shown in all its insidious  bitchiness. The bully comes across as friendly and outwardly nice, managing to worm her way into people's lives then gradually manipulating their opinions. It's easy to see why so many were taken in with her stories - even when the reader clearly knows the rights and wrongs of the case.

A great stand-alone novel but for followers of the series, Alex and Sarah are back with their continuing stories.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Hachette Books Ireland
Genre - teenage fiction

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Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman

Teenage Parenthood
review by Maryom

Dante is waiting anxiously for his A level results, then he'll be off to university to pursue his dreams of becoming a journalist. Unfortunately that isn't all that arrives on his doorstep that day. His ex-girlfriend Melanie shows up, with a baby she claims is his - and then she sneaks away and leaves Dante literally holding the baby!

So often teenage pregnancy and parenthood are seen as affecting the mother but here we see them from the perspective of a boy suddenly thrust into fatherhood. Dante finds himself in the middle of nappy changing/feeding problems, having to sort out all the bureaucracy of social services, health visitors, doctors, nursery placements etc that accompany a baby these days, while still not certain that this child is actually his. Sometimes his attempts to cope seem laughable (particularly to a parent), sometimes they'll have you near to tears.
I'm a bit curious though about the 'hype' around this book. It's billed as a novel about the effects of teenage parenthood - which it is, but the secondary plot of the problems faced by Dante's gay brother Adam is an equally important issue and somehow seems to have been ignored. Adam is quiet open and happy about his sexual orientation but his school friends find it harder to take and he's on the receiving end of a lot of serious homophobic bullying.
I found myself having a lot more sympathy for Adam than for Dante. Dante, after all, is responsible for the troubles he's landed with - Adam has done nothing to deserve his. Boys Don't Cry is a thought-provoking book that I hope will get teenagers thinking about the choices they make in life and the knock-on effects that they can have.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Random House
Genre - Teen Fiction

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A Million Angels by Kate Maryon

Angels and Wishes
Review by Maryom

Jemima has always felt closer to her Dad than her Mum. With him, she's always felt able to talk about anything and everything and know that he will listen. But Dad is a soldier and he's off to Afghanistan. How will Mima fill the gap he leaves behind? Her mum is preoccupied with a baby expected soon, Gran lives in a dream with her wartime memories of her childhood sweetheart lost in the Blitz and best friend Jess delights in relaying all the worst news of what is happening to their father's in Afghanistan. To keep Dad safe, Mima draws a million guardian angels and imagines them winging their way to him but she decides the safest thing is to find a way to bring him home.

A Million Angels is a moving, engrossing, closely observed story of a young girl trying to come to terms with massive upheaval in her life. The reader really feels inside Mima's head, sharing her feelings of loss and loneliness, the futility of trying to explain to others, even when wanting her to stop in her reckless attempts to have her dad brought home. The 'supporting cast' feel equally real - from her pre-occupied, well-meaning but so 'off the mark' Mum to the popular girls at school who make life such a pain.

Maryom's review - 5 stars

Publisher - Harper Collins

Genre - Children's 10+

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The Killer's Daughter by Vivian Oldaker

Bullied into the truth
Review by TheMole(Gerry)


This book is very easy reading and would make an excellent holiday book for young girls.

Emma is the grand daughter of a famous movie star who died on the Greek island of Kalos. The trouble is that her father was tried for her grandmother's murder and although found not guilty people don't believe the verdict. Where ever they go they seem to get hounded and ostracised. They have moved to Wessex where Emma starts a new school and it starts all over again.

Emma is year 11 but having to repeat year 10 because of the court case so 16 going on 17 but I found myself comparing her actions and maturity with my 13 year old daughter. I am not sure why I should find that though. Is it that my daughter is mature or is Emma written as less mature? The effect of this is that I can see this book being read and and enjoyed by young teenagers through to the older ones.

It is fast moving and ends up as a whodunnit that develops quite late on. One of it's main early themes is bullying, which seems to be a quite popular theme today. The bullying is portrayed well and I found myself thinking that yes, the teaching staff would do it that way - but are they right?

I did enjoy the book, although at times I wanted to give some (if not most) of the characters a telling off.

Publisher - Andersen Press

Genre - Teenage Girls General Fiction

Playground by 50 Cent with Laura Moser

"Mostly True"
Review by The Mole

Butterball's parents have split and he is living in the non-fashionable Garden City with his mum rather than in the trendy New York with his dad. He has changed school and only has one friend who one day he turns on and beats up. After this he must see a therapist or be expelled.

We follow the story of Butterball as he goes through therapy but still gets into more trouble and starts to regret some of his past. In fact, regrets much of his past.

A really enjoyable read and well told.

Ok, the telling... At a couple of points it feels like there is a little hero worship involved and wonder if there is something of the co-writer coming through? Something I am not sure about though is the reading age.... Normally a book about a 13/14 year old boy is aimed at 11+ but this book has language (not profanity although 'sh*t' is thrown in liberally through out the book) and concepts that just don't seem right for a young teenager - things that might be learned and understood retrospectively in later life.

Having made those minor comments, it doesn't detract from the fact that this book is 'mostly true' and a heart warming story for it. Clearly the book is not a transcript of the sessions and it is easy to say that as a work of fiction this just would not have happened. It did - and it's important to bear that in mind.

So it's target audience? Well 50 Cent says it's an anti bullying book and this it most certainly is but are bullies likely to read it? Sadly not many will simply because such people tend not to read a great deal because it's not 'cool' but perhaps the name on the front cover may just get some reading it and thinking about it. Or maybe victims or family will and hopefully 50 Cent's intention will be realised. But I wonder how many copies will be bought as presents for fans and go unread?

It is well worth a read and is easily readable.

New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin

Why the victim?
Review by The Mole

Sam Hendry has moved up to secondary school but in order to try to give her the best chances her parents have elected to send her to a private school. The effect of this decision is that she has gone up to secondary school without any of her friends and on the first day in school she is on her own. Almost from the moment Molly sets eyes on her she decides that Sam is a victim to be bullied and starts a campaign of intimidation.

Written from the victim's standpoint this book does endeavour to show the true impact of bullying.

It is written in the short staccato sentence structure that one would expect an 11 year old to write in, however both myself and Maryom struggled with the form. After a burst of inspiration Maryom read a passage swapping "she" and "Sam" to "I" and so changing it to first person and this worked a great deal better, however it still did not sit right somehow. It's also important to note, I feel, that bullying also affects parents and so any message on the subject should be universally accessible and that the writing style chosen should not put them off reading it.

Bullying is a problem that is not unique to either gender but unfortunately this book contains girlie fashion tips and music choices that are very likely to turn boys off and miss an important audience for this subject.

In writing this the author highlights the role of reduced esteem that bullying causes and probably causes a spiralling effect on the severity of the intimidation. In reading this I was reminded of a scene from "Crossing Delancey" where Bubba attends a class endeavouring to teach the elderly that if they look like a victim they will be a victim.

This book, despite it's fairytale feel good ending, has a very positive message about a very serious aspect of bullying which the author has shown a very clear indication of understanding deeply, but unfortunately it could have been executed better. A message not to be ignored though.

Publisher - Grimoire Books
Genre - Children's 10+, bullying, Rebecca Emin

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The Killer's Daughter by Vivian Oldaker

A Murder Mystery and Bullying - two tales in one.
review by Maryom

The Mole has already reviewed The Killer's Daughter but as we're currently running a competition for you to win a personalised copy of it, I though I would read it too. I'm extremely glad I did.


Emma Xenos doesn't quite fit in - she's just moved to a new school and is having to re-take Year 10, she plays the saxophone and likes jazz instead of pop music, reads 'classics' for fun, has a crush on John Travolta rather than Orlando or Zac and, as if all that wasn't enough to single her out, her father was the prime suspect when his ex-film star mother-in-law was found dead at the bottom of a cliff, even though the court cleared him it doesn't make him innocent in the eyes of gossiping neighbours.
Needless to say Emma finds it difficult to settle in her new school - new friends are warned off by their parents, one of her class-mates targets her for bullying - her father and step-mother are wrapped in their own plans of making a fresh start in France where hopefully no one will have heard of them and Emma becomes convinced that the only thing to do to stop her own niggling doubts about her father's innocence is investigate her Grandmother's death herself.

The Killer's Daughter is a book with two threads - Emma settling into her new home and school, making friends - and maybe a boyfriend - standing up to bullies - and the mystery surrounding her grandmother's death.
I think this must be one of the best books I've read dealing with bullying. The reader sees how Emma is deliberately, maliciously picked on by Megan Marsh and her gang, but also enables us to see the teachers viewpoint - where both girls are equally at fault so both bully and victim are treated alike. Also, with the growing friendship between Emma and Bruce from the corner shop, come issues of teenage relationships and sex.
The mystery surrounding her grandmother's fall felt a little lacking and too easily solved, which is why I've given 4 1/2 stars - but maybe this is only in the eyes of a mature who-dunnit reader used to more complicated, convoluted plot twists.




We did an interview with Vivian after TheMole had reviewed it and currently we are proud to be hosting a competition to win a personalised copy!

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars

Publisher - Andersen Press

Genre - Teenage Girls General Fiction