Sophie Reads YA: Jenny McLachlan

2022 Beat the Backlist challenge

ARC Review: Truly, Wildly, Deeply by Jenny McLachlan

10:00

Truly, Wildly, Deeply
Series: None
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Published March 8th 2018 by Bloomsbury

Goodreads Synopsis
Annie is starting college. She can’t wait. No more school, no more uniform, and no one telling her what to do. It’s the start of a new adventure and Annie’s not going to let anyone or anything get in the way of that. Freedom matters to Annie. She has cerebral palsy and she’s had to fight hard to get the world to see her for who she truly is.

Then she meets Fab. He’s six foot two, Polish and a passionate believer in…well, just about everything, but most of all Annie and good old fashioned romance. The moment Fab sees Annie, he’s wildly drawn to her and declares she must be his girl. Annie’s horrified. She doesn’t want to be anyone’s anything, especially if it means losing her independence.

But then Annie finds herself falling for Fab. As things go deeply wrong, Annie realises that love can make you do wild, crazy things, and so she sets out to win his heart with a romantic gesture of truly epic proportions!
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Finding freedom with her choice of college, Annie has no plans to settle down, and get a boyfriend. Free from uniforms, from expectations, from her peers knowing her as only the girl with cerebral palsy, Annie loves the train ride to sixth form, and her freedom to make her way around in whatever way she wishes. But when she is paired with Fab in English, studying Wuthering Heights, she soon realises that all Fab wants is a good old fashioned romance, and Annie is the one he has his heart on. Soon though, Annie finds that she's loving spending time with Fab, and his Polish family, and she may, just may, be falling for him in return.

Well, I'm going to hold my hands up and admit this is a book I completely forgot about on my kindle, so when I wasn't too fussed with what my next book was, I picked a random one, and this popped up. I liked Annie to a certain extent. She had faced so much in her school years, and though people weren't actively horrible to her about her disability, she still had to be strong and hide how much it hurt to be treated differently. Being at college with new people, she could make new friends, and create a new 'Annie'. Having a boyfriend is not in her plans, so when Fab appears, all eccentric and clearly falling for her, she's immediately annoyed, and can be a little hurtful too. Fab was definitely over the top, and honestly, I would not want to be friends with him in real life, but I feel like he was exactly what Annie needed to come out of her shell, and enjoy college more. A nice read about the transition from school to college, and gaining some independence.

Dates Read:
October 13-15, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

Blog Tour

YA Shot! Q&A with Jenny McLachlan

09:00

A few months ago, I was asked if I would like to take part in the YA Shot B/Vlog Tour 2016, and immediately thought it was a good idea!

For my post, I'll be doing a Q&A with Jenny McLachlan, author of the fantastic Ladybird series.

About Jenny:

I have always loved reading and I studied English at university just so that I could read a bit more. Next I found my way into secondary teaching and discovered that I loved it too: I got to read more books, show off and hang out with very funny teenagers. What a great job!

Teaching English also encouraged me to write. Soon I had planned and started lots of different stories, but they were all abandoned and shoved to the back of a drawer. Then, one day, the plot for Flirty Dancing came together; Bea’s story was so alive it was like a film running in my head and I knew it was a story I would finish.

Over the next few years, various exciting events distracted me from Flirty Dancing: I got married, travelled the world, was chased by an angry elephant (and a pack of dogs) and I had two babies. While I was sitting on trains, swimming in the Outback and raising two crazy girls, I kept thinking about Bea, and her friends, Betty, Kat and Pearl, until I realised I had planned three more books.

In 2013, after attending the Winchester Writers’ Festival, I plucked up the courage to send Flirty Dancing to Julia Churchill, a brilliant children’s fiction agent at A.M. Heath. With dazzling speed I was then signed by Bloomsbury to write the four books in the series.

You can see my reviews for Jenny's books here:

- Flirty Dancing (The Ladybirds #1)

- Love Bomb (The Ladybirds #2)

- Sunkissed (The Ladybirds #3)

- Star Struck (The Ladybirds #4)

Now onto the questions:

1. How old would you say you were when you realised that teaching, and later writing, was what you wanted to do?

I never planned to become a secondary school teacher or a writer. After I finished university, I trained to become a primary teacher, but quickly realised it wasn’t for me. I was observing a lesson in a secondary school and I was struck by how happy I felt – teenagers are really funny! It was a bit like coming home and I knew that this was where I wanted to work. I suppose I’m on the same wavelength as teenagers (or I’ve never grown up?) and writing stories for them seemed like a natural progression. I was thirty when I started writing Flirty Dancing.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about the Ladybirds series?

This series tells four coming-of-age stories of four very different teenage girls: Bea, Betty, Kat and Pearl. When Flirty Dancing opens, the girls are leading separate lives at secondary school, but they were once best friends. Over the course of the books, the girls rediscover the friendship that once tied them together.

3. How did Bea’s story come to you? Was it all at one, or more of a gradual process?

The whole story came in a bit of a flash, but of course it had been bubbling away in my mind for years, probably since I was a shy teenager at secondary school. When I was in my twenties, I learnt to jive and it gave me so much confidence that I wished I learnt to dance when I was a teenager. One day the pieces all fit together in my mind and I sat down and planned the book.

4. Whose story was your favourite to write, and why?

That’s a tricky question! I think Sunkissed was probably the most enjoyable one to write as I got to imagine I was spending the summer on an idyllic Swedish island, eating cinnamon buns and night swimming.

5. This will be a bit of a Sophie’s Choice type of question, but which of the girls is your favourite?

That’s an even trickier question! I’m going to have to say that Pearl is my favourite because she has come such a long way since she first appeared in Flirty Dancing. She’s still very vivid in my mind; I could easily imagine her walking into the room and talking to me…or possibly swearing at me.

6. Further point- which love interest did you most enjoy writing about?

They’ve all been pretty enjoyable. Falling in love for the first time is magical, but I think I most enjoyed writing about Betty’s love interest. There are a lot of goosebumpy moments in Love Bomb. Having said that, nothing beats the sock scene in Flirty Dancing. I still read that if I need cheering up!

7. Did you know when you began writing the series how it would end, or did it develop as each book was written?

I had planned out all four books but they did develop as I wrote them, especially Star Struck, Pearl’s story. When I planned this book in detail I realised that I’d made Pearl fall in love with the wrong person. There is only one person in the book mighty enough to take on Pearl!

8. What type of research did you do as you wrote? Is anything taken from your own life?

With each book that I’ve written I’ve moved further and further away from my own life and experiences. I suppose I’ve used them all up! Jive, poetry, Swedish islands, funny little sisters and eccentric nans all come from my life. The book that I’ve just finished writing – Star Gazing for Beginners – has required the most research. The main character, Meg, is obsessed with the stars and astrophysics so I had to learn a lot very quickly. It was brilliant. I spent a month reading books, watching documentaries and speaking to scientists at Sussex University. Now when I look up at the stars I understand how tiny and insignificant I am!

9. What type of advice would you give to teenagers reading your books now? Or to any aspiring authors out there?

I think the key to becoming a writer is developing the ability to step back from your writing and be critical about it. It took my ten years to write Flirty Dancing, and the final manuscript was virtually unrecognisable from the original one that I wrote. There were lots of points when I nearly gave up – in fact I once gave up on it for four years – but I’m glad I persevered!

10. What has been your favourite part of being an author since the beginning until now?

Watching the stories come alive on the page. I always feel a bit terrified when I start a new book – and it doesn’t seem to get any easier - but I force myself through the difficult first chapters and then one day I realise that the story has taken on a life of its own. It’s amazing!

11. Now that the series is finished, what are your plans for the future? Are there any books currently in the works you can talk about?

I’ve already mentioned Star Gazing for Beginners which is out next year, and right now I’m writing a book set at the start of sixth form. It’s a love story and, in my humble opinion, the heroine is awesome!

Thanks, Jenny, for taking part in this Q&A! I'm really looking forward to Star Gazing for Beginners, and your other future books.

4 Stars

ARC Review: Star Struck (The Ladybirds #4) by Jenny McLachlan

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Star Struck
Series: The Ladybirds #4
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Published March 10th 2016 by Bloomsbury Childrens

Goodreads Synopsis
Following on from Flirty Dancing, Love Bomb and Sunkissed, Jenny McLachlan's next book is perfect for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison.

In a huge fantastic final hurrah to our lovable heroines - Bea, Betty, Kat and Pearl - Jenny McLachlan's latest book tells Pearl's story. Pearl is the 'bad girl' of the group - she drinks, she smokes, she swears - and she's mean to Bea and Betty. But she did fly halfway round the world to rescue Kat in Sunkissed. If there's one thing Pearl knows deep down, it is how to be a friend. And now, more than ever, she could really use a friend.

There will be laughter, there will be tears and there will definitely be kissing. Most importantly, Pearl will be keeping it fierce!
Goodreads

Review
See my reviews for the previous books:
- Flirty Dancing (#1)
- Love Bomb (#2)
- Sunkissed (#3)

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

This series soon became a favourite of mine last summer, and I was waiting with baited breath for the final instalment. Pearl, the MC in Star Struck, has been a cow for the past books, but she somewhat redeemed herself in Sunkissed when she flew to Sweden when Kat needed a friend. Well, it's safe to say I understand why she has been so abrupt and bitchy, when you read from her PoV.

In Star Struck, Pearl wants to play Juliet in the school production of Romeo and Juliet. Her plan is scuppered when new girl, Hoshi, arrives from Japan, and 'steals' her role. Pearl, in her usual bitchy self, plans to get even, and make Hoshi's life hell. However, she soon becomes friends with Hoshi, and learns why she had to leave Japan.

I loved Pearl. Her attitude in the previous books had been a bit grating at times, but after I read Sunkissed, I was dying to read more about her. Her home situation is not great - I mean, I was scared for her at times, it was that bad - and she had to put on this facade to deal with it all. She's just re-making friends with the Ladybirds, but they are still on egg shells, mainly because of her. The only thing I can say I wanted more of, was interacting between the Ladybirds, as there wasn't too much.

Pearl's friendship with Hoshi was wonderful to read. It started off really bristle-y, as Pearl was jealous of pretty much everything about Hoshi - she was pretty, she was an amazing singer/actress, and she made friends with the Ladybirds really easily. In short, she seemed like Pearl x2. However, once they became proper friends, and Pearl stopped hating on her, they became really close, and Hoshi was the only person who she told about her home situation.

Like the synopsis said, there is kissing in this book, and it was wonderful to read. No spoilers, but I was so happy with it! Really, it was definitely swoony :)

Star Struck wasn't my favourite book of the series, but I think it was a close second. That title still goes to Flirty Dancing, because Bollie are the cutest! Pearl was nothing like I was expecting, she definitely had hidden depths that we're only just able to see. If you've loved this series, or are a fan of fun, but sometimes serious, contemporary UKYA, this is the book for you!

Dates Read:
March 1-2, 2016

Rating
4 Stars

4 Stars

ARC Review: Sunkissed (The Ladybirds #3) by Jenny McLachlan

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Sunkissed
Series: The Ladybirds #3
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Published August 13th 2015 by Bloomsbury Children's

Goodreads Synopsis
Following on from Flirty Dancing and Love Bomb, Jenny McLachlan's next book is perfect summer holiday reading for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison.

Kat can't believe her family are sending her to Sweden for the summer. But without her friends, or even a phone signal, can Kat make it on her own?

In a land of saunas, nudity and summer sun, Kat soon realises she has nowhere to hide. It's time to embrace who she really is, underneath what she's been thinking people want her to be. Especially if she's going to win the heart of mega fit Swede Leo! Can Kat find her inner strength and prove she's got what it takes?

Kat soon finds that when you're surrounded by phosphorescence and wonder it's easy to sparkle. Or maybe that's what happens when you fall in love . Or maybe you only shine when you're true to yourself.
Goodreads

Review
See my reviews for the previous books:
- Flirty Dancing (#1)
- Love Bomb (#2)

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Sunkissed just may be my favourite book in this series so far. For some reason, up until now, I wasn't a fan of Kat, but that opinion totally changed whilst reading this. With each instalment of The Ladybirds, we fall even more in love with the characters, and I absolutely can't wait to read Pearl's books now that I've realised how fab she can be.

In Sunkissed, Kat is sent to stay with an auntie in Sweden during the summer as punishment for hiding in a cupboard with her sister's ex-boyfriend. Even when she thought she'd be spending a month in Stockholm, where she could shop, use her phone, and have electricity, Kat was not happy. Now imagine how even less happy she was to discover her month in Sweden would be spent on an isolated island, with one shop, one cafe, and not many more people. And, to top it all off, the cabin she was staying in had no electricity, and there was no phone service across the island. Whilst there, and struggling to deal with all these issues, Kat soon makes friends with the local hottie, Leo, and discovers her love of sport, at the same time.

As with the other books in this series, romance is not the sole plot point; each of the Ladybird girls discovers themselves and blossom into wonderful teenagers, though sometimes wacky and weird, that today's teenagers should aspire to be. Here, Kat discovers that she is not as different from her family as she expected, and that she actually enjoys sports/exercise as much as her family do. She also becomes a lot closer to her Swedish aunt, Frida, and embraces her Swedish heritage. BTW, how did I not know her mother was Swedish - I was completely shocked by that.

Another surprising part of this book was just how much I loved Pearl, after not being a fan in Flirty Dancing and Love Bomb. She was a true friend to Kat when she needed one, and her time away from her other British friends, helped her become a truly loveable character. I can't believe how McLachlan has changed my opinion of a character so much. I was upset that Bea and Betty, and their BFs Ollie and Bill, weren't a larger part of this book, but that was understandable, what with the majority of the story taking place in a foreign country.

Though romance wasn't the main part of this story, the relationship between Leo and Kat was adorable from the very first moment. They start from being only civil to the cutest couple ever, though not without their angst, as is the norm with most contemporary novels. The very last chapter of this book had me smiling uncontrollably, for numerous reasons, not least of which was Kat and Leo.

All in all, each instalment of The Ladybirds is even better than the last. I am in awe of McLachlan's ability to write such loveable characters, and such an enjoyable book that it took me less than four hours to read from cover to cover. This series is quickly becoming an all time favourite of mine, and a wonderful addition to the UKYA contemporary genre. I would definitely recommend this, though these books do fall in the lower range of the YA spectrum.

Dates Read:
July 26, 2015

Rating
4 Stars

4 Stars

Review: Love Bomb (The Ladybirds #2) by Jenny McLachlan

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Love Bomb
Series: The Ladybirds #2
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Published March 12th 2015 by Bloomsbury Children's

Goodreads Synopsis
Perfect Valentine's reading for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison.

Betty Plum has never been in love. She's never even kissed a boy. But when H.O.T. Toby starts school it's like Betty has been hit with a thousand of Cupid's arrows. It's like a bomb has exploded – a love bomb!

More than ever Betty wishes her mum hadn't died when Betty was a baby. She really needs her mum here to ask her advice. And that's when she finds hidden letters for just these moments. Letters about what your first kiss should feel like and what real love is all about …

Is Betty ready to fall in love? Will she finally have her first kiss?
Goodreads

Review
See my review for the previous book:
- Flirty Dancing (#1)

As I have an ARC of book 3, Sunkissed, this was the perfect opportunity to read Love Bomb for the first time. Love Bomb follows Betty, who I adored in book 1, Flirty Dancing. Betty is weird, and wacky, and just the perfect amount of strange and loveable that we need in cutesy contemporary fiction. Even though I'm now 20, I adore reading UKYA contemporaries such as the Geek Girl series, and Jessica Cole: Model Spy. The Ladybirds is no exception to this! To be honest, I feel like I'm back to being a teenager when I read books such as this; all the British colloquialisms and inside jokes make it a much more enjoyable experience.

As I've already said, Betty was a wonderful protagonist, and I could easily read more books from her point of view. As with most contemporaries, there was a split of fluffy nonsense with actual real life issues, meaning the books stay with you for days to come. In Love Bomb, Betty is a fifteen year old, dealing with the fact that her widowed father is now dating again, all at the same time as she has her first crush on the new boy, Toby. Toby, I was not a fan off. However, I liked his presence as it allowed Betty to discover herself, and, also, discover her mother. Betty had been receiving letters her mother left for her, before she died of cancer, and through these letters, especially the more personal ones hidden in the loft, Betty could really understand her mother better, and, ultimately, fall in love with the woman who desperately wished she could have been there through the years. Personally, I would've loved to have met Lorna, Betty's mam, as she seemed to be a truly amazing woman, and even though she was no longer with Betty, in the physical sense, she helped her it the best way possible.

Betty's gang of friends, the original Ladybirds, bar Pearl, were just as lovely as in Flirty Dancing, and I can't wait to read Kat's story in Sunkissed. I truly hope that by the end of the series The Ladybirds are together again, and are all friends. Bollie (Bea and Ollie from Flirty Dancing) were as cute as ever, and Emma continues to steal the scene with every appearance she made.

The best thing about the book was the romance between Bill and Betty. From the start I had hoped Bill would be the love interest, and my wait was well rewarded. Even though it took some time to come to fruition, we could see how compatible the two were, and how they transitioned from best friends to being in love, and together. Again, I hope they have a good, supporting role in subsequent books, as I am desperate to find out how their relationship progresses.

All in all, this was a wonderful addition to a delightful series, and I can't wait to dive into my ARC of Sunkissed. I'd absolutely recommend this series to lovers of contemporary fiction, UKYA, and just plain cutesy books!

Dates Read:
July 11, 2015

Rating
4 Stars

4 Stars

Review: Flirty Dancing (The Ladybirds #1) by Jenny McLachlan

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Flirty Dancing
Series: The Ladybirds #1
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Published July 3rd 2014 by Bloomsbury Children's

Goodreads Synopsis
Bea Hogg is shy but fiery inside. When national dance competition Starwars comes to her school looking for talent, she wants to sign up. It's just a shame her best friend agreed to enter with school super-cow Pearl Harris. Bea will fight back! But when school hottie, Ollie Matthews, who also happens to be Pearl’s boyfriend, decides to enter the competition with Bea, she will have more than a fight on her hands.

This warm, nuanced, hilarious story about friendship, fortitude . . . and dancing is impossible not to fall in love with. Jenny’s voice is fresh and convincing, and she handles both darker and lighter elements of the story with equal panache.
Goodreads

Review
I've had my eye on this series for some time now, and seeing as I've been approved for an ARC of book 3, this was the perfect time to read it.

Flirty Dancing was a really quick and easy read. With my e-book being only 180 pages, it seemed to fly through. The book was fun, and a little cheesy - the perfect story to read when jet lagged and in the mood for some fluff.

Our main character was Bea, a 14 year old from Brighton, who faces the same challenges most teenagers do. She's dealing with school, with her friends - and enemies, and struggling with her body image. I really connected with her, as I could definitely understand some of the feelings she had throughout the book. This was undoubtedly helped by the fact it was UKYA, so I understood the slang and colloquialisms used.

The background of the series, that all four girls were friends called The Ladybirds, seems very promising. I can't wait to read further books to see exactly how Bea, Kat, Betty, and Pearl fell out, and hopefully, to see them become friends again. Betty was a wonderful character, and I'm glad that Love Bomb is from her perspective.

Bea and Ollie's romance was cute and fluffy, and perfect for a quick contemporary read. I loved seeing Bea's first crush/love pan out, especially as it started from friendship. Their dancing as the Jive Monkey's seemed very real, and almost as if I was actually watching them perform - McLachlan did an excellent job with this!

Even the background characters were enjoyable. I loved Bea's baby sister, Emma - she really reminded me of Libby from the Georgia Nicolson series. She was very funny and helped to lighten the mood at times. Also, Bea's nan was so influential in the book. Because of her, Bea came out of her shell and thrived. Bea's whole dancing career with Ollie was due to her nan's input. She no longer put up with the bullying she suffered, and became more body positive as a result. This is a really important message for teenagers today, and I loved how it was addressed.

Even though Flirty Dancing was a quick read, that by no means was at the detriment of the story. I feel as though everything that needed to happen, happened, and anything that perhaps hadn't, will be covered in the companion books. I'm definitely going to continue with this series, and am so glad I have an advance copy of Sunkissed.

Dates Read:
June 26 to 27, 2015

Rating
4 Stars