Audiobook - For those who poured over teen mags with their girl friends in the 70's, this is a quick look in the rear view mirror. Not life changing -just a fun story.

I can't believe Allison Pearson wrote this when I Don't Know How She Does It was so good. Great topic but the book was rambling, unfocused and incredibly boring. The $4.99 bargain bin price I paid was no steal, but a definite ripoff.

absorbing, interesting, helped pass the time on the plane, and memorable characters. thumbs up.

This book did not start out well for me. If I hadn't been reading it for book club, I would not have continued past the first third or so.

The first half of the book takes place when Petra and her friends are young teens, obsessed with David Cassidy, and having the sort of problems that girls in books (and real life) often seem to have-- Bullying, friendship issues, parental problems...

Since the David Cassidy connection didn't speak to me, it just felt like a book I'd read before, with characters that I didn't particularly want to spend time with.

I think this is a book where listening to the audio really got in the way for me.

First, the narrators voice was not that of a young teen (the Petra sections were first person), which isn't a showstopper, but it didn't help, either.

Second, the book moves between Petra's story and that of Bill (a young journalist writing for the David Cassidy magazine that Petra and her friends pour over), and excerpts from the David Cassidy magazine. Looking at the printed book, I think this would have broken up the experience more-- I would have felt the "Bill" sections gave me more of a break if I hadn't still been hearing Petra's voice. The magazine excerpts had a completely different look, which also would have served as a chance to take a breath, away from Petra and her friends.

I don't think I would have loved this first part in print, but I also don't think I would have been longing to stop reading.

Luckily, the second half worked much better for me. I found it a pleasant enough read, and the narrator's voice fit the adult Petra much better (although since it is no longer first person, it isn't such an issue).

I enjoyed Petra's escape from her life as she gets a chance to meet her childhood crush, reconnects with her childhood friend, and gets a chance to move on from her more recent hurts in her life.

Bill was actually my favorite character in both halves of the book, but even he isn't particularly memorable.

I'm glad it improved for me, but it still won't be one of my favorite books of the year.

Fun read for fans of David Cassidy from the author of "i don't know how she does it". Part flashback, and part murky memory. added bonus....There's even an interview with David!

"Since Marcus left, Petra likes to sit near Cassie in the staffroom, the way animals lie beside each other in a stable." (199)

There were many times I found myself skipping paragraphs because they added no additional content.

The new book by the author of I Don't Know How She Does It, a book I've previous read and really enjoyed, so I had high hopes for this book. It was enjoyable, but not on the same level as her first for me unfortunately. I found the splitting on the stories in the middle a bit disjointing - it felt like two completely different books to begin with. It's nicely and honestly written; this makes sense when you get to the end and find out the author is basically writing about herself as a child, but, well it just didn't grip me very much. It was predictable and a fairly standard quality of writing. Alright if you like that sort of thing, but read IDKHSDI first/instead.

This was a pretty enjoyable book, but I think this was only because I listened to the audio book. The narrator was brilliant with the way she maintained a “voice" for each character. My main complaint was how rambling the text was - every SINGLE detail of the characters' inner thoughts was written. I imagine if I were reading the text itself, I would have long since put down the book.
Otherwise, this book was a very good look at how we grow up and grow within ourselves.