Last year I read and reviewed Rachel McIntyre’s debut novel ‘Me and Mr J’ which was utterly fantastic, and I was excited when I heard about this book. To me the synopsis sounded a lot lighter and fluffier than ‘Me and Mr J’ which was unexpected, but actually the book is so much more than it seems.  

The voice of Daisy could not be more spot on than if it was written by an actual teenager. It was so reminiscent of how I felt starting college. The writing was absolutely spot on getting across both Daisy’s feelings but creating a strong moral with the story. At face value the things that happen, you can easily find yourself saying that it was so easy to avoid, but like many times it’s easy for an outsider to say that. However it’s a perfect reminder that it’s actually so easy to let it happen, especially if you’re Daisy’s age. It’s hard to see it happening on the inside of the situation, as you forgive easier, and convince yourself that you’re mind is making more of a big deal than it actually is.  

Daisy is the typical teenager, full of insecurities that she keeps in, and a small streak of cheeky attitude at times, that I think we all had at that age. However, while she has insecurities she’s also quite strong willed in other areas, one example is in the school canteen, she doesn’t get on with Brittany, a mean woman in her class, but that doesn’t get in the way of her showing her distaste at hearing Toby and his friends refer to her as a slut. She was also really responsible at home, helping her parents by babysitting, or even helping out in their wedding business, many teenagers would have 50 better things to do with their weekend, but Daisy was ultimately very sensible and smart, which actually makes what happens even more worse.  

I really liked Daisy’s friends, and even though there was a time when the subject of boys came between Daisy and Beth, the set of rules that they created, generally speaking was good for them, helping them stay together through thick and thin. They didn’t drift apart like so many people can when growing up. I did feel sorry for Daisy though, and understand her feelings, especially when Jasmine appeared on the scene, but at the same time I understand that Ayesha and Beth weren’t really doing anything wrong, and certainly not on purpose, it was just Daisy feeling a bit insecure and excluded, which given the circumstances it would be hard not to, especially if you keep things bottled up like Daisy did at times.  

This book is such a great read. One you really get to understand the characters in, and end up with a nice positive feeling. It’s not your standard contemporary YA, it’s so much more, and should definitely be on your list on next reads whenever your fancy a taste of young adult fiction.  

Published by: Electric Monkey
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review  

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