Secrets at St Judes: Sunshine Girl by Carmen Reid

March 2011, Corgi Children's
288 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Young Adult,

Boarding school, ups and downs of friendships, tricks (some funny, some stupid), sneaking around, lying, cheating, teen romance (gets pretty racey in a few sections)

Summary from Random House Children's Books
The St Jude’s girls are taking a super-fun trip to visit Gina’s amazing LA home, but there are upsets and excitement for Gina, Niffy, Amy and Min this term. Will Amy finally find out who her mother is? And will Gina decide between her two love interests? And what about Min – is she just getting too wrapped up in her crazy science discoveries?

Nayuleska's reasons for loving Niffy...she gets as hyper as I do on coffee, she loves cakes & sweets as much as I do. She is a mastermind for tricks, which are really clever and funny in this & previous books.

Is there another character who deserves a special mention? Min - it's sweet how much she loves science - she love her microscope more than snacks (funny scene with Gina).

How evil/nasty is the enemy? Girls can be right little madams (that's putting politely) - Niffy & co's enemies really aren't friendly, but I didn't like or agree with how Amy took her revenge (Gina felt the same as me).

Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? There are several sprinkled throughout the story, with a lot of laughs.

One of my favourite parts was...when Niffy played the final trick, and was actually praised for it by a familiar character. It was a big 'whoohoo' moment.

Although I'm not always keen on how the girls behave, their friendship is firm, they have good hearts, they can be very funny so I give this 8/10.

Suggested reads
Share more of the girls' adventures in the previous books including: Jealous Girl

and Drama Queen (link to follow)