'Life is not a bowl of cherries. Suck it up.' On April-May's first day at Trinity College, she has the wrong colour bag, too-bright socks and she gets her favourite novel confiscated for reading it during class. She makes total enemies with the evil Mrs Ho, but she makes total friends with mouth-breather Melly. Then, she meets the gorgeous Seb, loses her entire wardrobe to a hobo and gets branded a sockless trouble-maker. A MONTH WITH APRIL-MAY is a one-eyebrow-raised account of a teenager's trials and tribulations as she navigates a new school, a new family situation and a whole new way of life.
My thoughts
A month with April-May is a fab little read and perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson or Louise Rennison and a book I thoroughly enjoyed.
April-May is a brilliant character. She's quirky and a refreshing honest character who you warm to instantly as you see her world through her eyes. I loved how she came up with random facts of the day and the way in which she developed relationships around her and mostly importantly the fact that she loves reading YA fiction instead of the classics. Definitely a girl I can relate to!
I liked how the story was that little bit different from the books I've compared it to by being set in South Africa (which is also where the author is from) as it gives the book a different feel to those set in the UK and adds a bit more diversity to the genre.
I particularly enjoyed that April-May was this really ordinary kid. She has divorced parents and lives in a relatively poor family but rather than getting her down she just gets on with it. I thought it was really nice to see that side because all too novel YA novels focus on the rich kid with the perfect life or the kids who doesn't but really acts out to make up for it.
The story takes place over a month, as the title suggests, and I liked it because it gave you a real in depth look into the world that April-May lives in rather than just a sweeping overview and therefore gave the reader a real chance to get to know her.
A story which is both brilliantly funny but with real heart too. Highly recommended.
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