I really wanted to love this book but I just could not get into it

I think it's too bad that this book is probably going to get overlooked by a lot of people just because the cover is just so gosh-darned pink -- it looks like a tosser, easily dismissible as frothy, feel-good chick-lit, more fluff than depth, more cheese than ...urm... meat? I know I was on the verge of dismissing it for all these reasons and more; I mean, c'mon!?! David Cassidy? Really people? But thanks to a contagious review here on goodreads, I took a chance and am I glad that I ever did.

I don't just think I love this book, I know it with complete and utter certainty. Why? Because it is filled with bittersweet insights on life and love and laced with a quick and sassy humor that had me laughing out loud. This book has heart -- a real, beating, bloody, muscle that pumps and lives and breathes in the pages. So okay, there's that David Cassidy thing, but really, he's just the point of entry to a book that explores so well, with such empathy and truth, the bumpy and perilous terrain of our first crushes and those critical bonds of first real friendships that will define the women we become.

And speaking of those first crushes? Remember those? How much we threw every single piece of ourselves into them, right down to our protons and neutrons? I'm thinking a magic part of that intoxicating buzz never truly leaves us if we're lucky. I remember seeing Eddie Vedder on stage when I was 19 and it was as close to a "religious" experience as I'll ever get. Can I get a Hallelujah? I really did almost implode at the molecular level.

I love books that can write about friendships among women, convincingly and with genuine feeling. Petra and Sharon are wonderful as adult friends, and as children they are charming and unforgettable. This book has a high nostalgia factor that resonates. It's a beautiful read and I loved every minute of it. Highly recommended.

From an enjoyment perspective I should give this 4 stars, but I'm stingy with my ratings. I think that Pearson really captured the life of a preteen girl, and all the uncertainties and emotions that go along with it. Having been a David Cassidy lover in my youth, I could certainly relate, but I think that the relationships between all the girls transcends the David Cassidy angle. The story did bring it all back for me: the wanting desperately to belong, to want romantic love, not evenr entirely sure what that meant, the nascent sexual stirrings coming to life. And although I am usually wary of a happy ending, I think Pearson ended it just happy enough, even if in doing so she wrapped it up a little too neatly. All in all, an enjoyable read, with likable characters and just enough "thinking points" to keep it from being pure chick lit.

Any woman who was a young teenager in the early 70's will appreciate this book, which takes on adolescent friendship, fandom, and the worldwide influence of the Partridge Family. Fun, but with a touch of seriousness (the dark side of Queen Bees and fan hysteria).

This is enjoyable and better written than I expected. If you have ever cut out anything from a stupid magazine and put it on your wall, you'll appreciate the terrific attention to details.

Who was your big crush during your tween years? David Cassidy anyone? The first part of the story is set in the 70s about a girl in Wales who is obsessed with David, and the latter part of the book is the girl, all grown up, about to get divorced and her mother has recently passed away. She rediscovers her sense of adventure as she goes through her mom's stuff, which includes a few mementos from her David era. Well done!

a little slow.....