Girl, Barely 15: Flirting for England

April 1, 2008
Gr 7-10-Laugh-out-loud funny, this prequel to the now four-part series about Jess Jordan is sure to be a winner with fans of British chick-lit. After receiving his picture in the mail, Jess falls in love with her French exchange student. Then she meets him face-to-face and discovers that he's as small as an elf, speaks almost no English, and has a fascination for spiders and snakes. Worse, he has a crush on her. Efforts to discourage him, involving Jess pretending to have a relationship with her best friend, adorable if nerdy Fred, change when she develops a crush on another French exchange student, Gerard. When this ladies' man comes on to Jess and then to her friend Flora on a camping trip with some classmates and their exchange partners, Jess isn't the only one who is jealous of Gerard and Flora, and watching everyone's reactions is hilarious. The fast pace will keep readers turning the pages. A few of the scenes don't further the story, but even those are so full of sparkling wit and slapstick humor that it doesn't matter. The tale stops rather than ends, leaving readers waiting for the next installment to see if Jess catches a glimpse of gorgeous classmate Ben's appendicitis scar."Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, ID"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
In this fourth Jess Jordan novel, Jess and her classmates welcome 30 French exchange students. Jess is thrilled when her family is assigned to host Edouard, who has sent a gorgeous picture. But Edouard turns out to be painfully shy and immature, and he develops a terrible crush on Jess. Jess strategy? She pretends that she loves her friend Fred. Limb takes Jess and friends through a roller-coaster ride of British teenage slapstick involving flirtatious French teens, a storm-tossed camping trip, and a grandmother convinced she talks with the dead. A sure hit with teens who enjoy Louise Rennisons books.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)