Mates Dates and Great Escapes giá ưu đãi

The girls are all off on a school trip tp Florence. For Lucy, it seems like a dream come true, as she longs to be a dress designer, and she gets to take in all the Italian fashions. It also provides a diversion from her relationship with Tony, which is not going so well….

Cathy Hopkins lives in North London with her handsome husband and three deranged cats. She has had nineteen books published. The fifth book in the Mates, Dates series, Mates, Dates, and Sole Survivors, was recently released in the U.K. Piccadilly Press has launched a new series from Hopkins, based on the classic sleepover game of Truth or Consequences.

KLIATT Cathy Hopkins writes of the comical travails of four English teenagers who are fortunate to have each other as empathetic “mates.” The series takes turns highlighting a particular member of the group: Lucy, Izzie, Nesta and TJ. The stories are full of embarrassing situations, which are handled with a great deal of humor. They are all realistic and Hopkins has her finger on the trials and tribulations of this age group. 

There are moral issues in these books, but Hopkins handles them in a gentle, pleasant manner without pontificating. The characters are likeable, and the plots move quickly. In the Diamond Destiny, it is Nesta who is in the spotlight as she struggles to immerse herself in a charity and make it financially solvent, and naturally, brings her mates along. Of course, along the way there is a boy. In Great Escapes, Lucy becomes the centerpiece. She is initially unable to afford the school trip to Italy, but destiny steps in and she does go abroad. The girls are immersed in Italian culture, or is it just the Italian boys, or the boys on the trip? KLIATT Codes: J–Recommended for junior high school students. 2004, Simon & Schuster, 198p., Ages 12 to 15. —Sherri Ginsberg