WHAT’S UP WITH JODY BARTON – by Hayley Long

Reviewed by Jackie Marchant

This is a story about living above a café with your twin sister, a soppy dad and glamorous mother, having to help in the café whether you like it or not, until the day Liam Mackie walks in and you fall instantly and hopelessly in love.  And so does your twin sister.

It’s about watching your twin sister flirt outrageously in a ridiculously short skirt with the boy you’ve fallen for, about having to answer her endless questions about whether or not you think he’s fit, until you make the ultimate sacrifice and hand her the mobile phone he left in the café, so she can be the one who gives it back to him. 

But why does Jody make this sacrifice, when Jolene has ditched dozens of boyfriends, after declaring each one of them ‘the one’?   How can Jody bear to watch them together in the café?

Because Jody has a secret. 

And when the secret comes out, this book changes from a lively, fun read into something a lot more serious – but no less fun and lively.  Having let Liam into the secret, Jody now has a terrible time agonising over whether or how to explain why it has led to a horrible row between Liam and Jolene that has left Jolene inconsolable.  But Liam is not going to keep quiet about the secret and, once Jolene finds out, the happy balance within the while family is threatened.

It’s difficult to say more without revealing the secret, which came as a complete surprise to me.  But the aftermath is beautifully handled in the same light, highly readable way.   Jody is such an engaging character that we are desperate to keep turning the pages to make sure everything works out in the end. 

This is a highly engaging, enjoyable read.

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