Wednesday 8 June 2011

Secrets at St Judes: Drama Girl by Carmen Reid

(I'm loving the new style of covers!) 

January 2010, Corgi Children's
304 pages, Paperback
Review copy 

Young Adult

Boarding school life, moderate level of teen romance, lying, sneaking out, parties, friends falling out, putting on a play (writing & acting), culture clash, some humour 

You'd think that being stuck in a stuffy girls bording school would mean life was dull and dreary, but this term the St Jude's girls are in for some serious drama!

Gina can't wait for her mum and friends to make the trip over to visit her from sunny California, but things don't exactly go to plan and she finds herself stuck in the middle of them and her new friends and hunky boyfriend. And things don't get better as the rest of her dorm-mates have their own dramas to deal with . . .

Niffy is not happy about her best friend and her brother becoming a couple - yuck! Min wishes she had the confidence to finally kiss her new boyfriend, and poor Amy is starting to do anything to look thin for the school play.

Will all the drama be resolved . . .?

Nayuleska's reason for loving Amy: I think she's my favourite character in this book because when she's low and gets one comment about her weight, she takes it the wrong way and starts on the twisty spiral of anorexia (there is a happy ending, but the pace of time passing seemed almost too quick to be realistic)

Is there another character who deserves a mention? All the girls are fun, but I enjoyed Gina's story line because her friends were diabolical in how they behaved to everything - life isn't all about luxury! 

How evil/nasty is the enemy? Distorted body image is evil and dangerous. Misunderstanding and friction between friends hurts everyone involved. 

Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? With all four girls having their own storyline, there's plenty of unexpected events. 

One of my favourite parts was....right when Amy's eating problem was discovered, I felt so sorry for her, but was so happy that she would get some help. 

I think this deserves 8/10

Make sure you check out more about St Judes and Carmen's other books on her website

Suggested reads
Try other St Jude's books for more adventures with the four girls which include Jealous Girl


For more school stories, check out the Silver Spires series: School Friends: Party at Silver Spires.


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