Boy Trouble

August 9, 2010
This earnest but unmemorable Irish import follows the eponymous 13-year-old, who is dealing with divorced parents, new siblings on both sides of her family, a falling-out with her best friend, and her first crush. Amy's salvation is her aunt Clover, her mother's 17-year-old sister. Flighty Clover has landed a coveted job at The Goss magazine, where she answers letters from unhappy teens and ropes Amy into helping her with revenge strategies against those who have wronged those who write in: "We're not going to let boys behave like eejits anymore." The girls crash parties and impersonate casting agents, embarrassing wrongdoers in the name of justice. First in a planned series, adult author Webb's first book for young readers keeps the narrative contemporary with references to social media, hip clothing, and text messages; some references and slang, like the term "agony aunt" for the type of column Clover writes, may be lost on U.S. readers (a glossary, written in Amy's voice, helps). When a pearl necklace is stolen and Amy is framed, she looks to Clover for help, bringing the story to a predictable close. Ages 11–up.

December 1, 2010

Gr 5-8-All teen girls should have an aunt like Clover Wildgust. Luckily for 13-year-old Amy, Clover belongs to her. The 17-year-old is working for a lifestyle magazine during her gap year before college. She writes the "agony aunt" advice column but is not satisfied with simply offering ideas to love-struck teens-she much prefers fixing problems herself, taking on cheating boyfriends and cruel girls in stunts that are creative as well as effective. Amy is kept quite busy helping Clover with the column, taking care of her baby brother and sister, and weathering the challenges of her blended family. Will it all prove to be too much when a boy from her art class starts to take an interest in her? This novel is set in Ireland, which gives it extra culture points as well as some unfamiliar vocabulary. Who knew that the whiny rich girls in Dublin are called D4s? Most of what's unclear is explained in context and a glossary is appended. This lively novel compares well to Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (HarperCollins, 2000), although it doesn't have the same quirky "explain it to the Americans" narrative voice.-Kathleen Meulen Ellison, Sakai Intermediate School, Bainbridge Island, WA

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2010

Despite some unfamiliar language, this bubbly piece of middle-grade Irish chick-lit will have no trouble crossing the pond. The lightly humorous and good-spirited tale--even the villains are only mildly mean--centers on a 13-year-old girl named Amy who is beset with a million persnickety problems and one awesome asset. Her problems include two complex stepfamilies, the desertion of her best friend to a higher-status crowd and her awakening feelings for an outsider boy. Her asset is Clover, her 17-year-old can-do cousin with a mission, which includes helping Amy with all of her difficulties even if it means creating some new ones. That mission derives from Clover's job as an "agony aunt" at a teen magazine, and with Amy firmly in tow, she goes out into the real world and attempts to solve her readers' problems, which frequently involves revenge. The story starts off slow and initially feels familiar, but as the characters and situations develop, it builds momentum, interest and fizz. Good fun. (Fiction. 11-14)

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