Cross Your Heart Connie Pickles [Paperback]

Sabine Durrant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2005

Welcome to the world of Connie Pickles. Best Friend #1 - Julie: Big boobs. Big ideas. Big fibber. Best Friend #2 - William: Giver of chocolate buttons. A shoulder for Connie to cry on. Makes other girls flutter and blush. Best Friend #3 - Delilah: hormone-crazed victim of a girls-only school. Flutters and blushes A LOT. Mother: French. Beautiful. Broke. Bra-expert. A romantic disaster area. Needs help. Connie used to be the only sensible person in her world. But now her life is spiralling out of control. Her mother refuses to fall for the right man, William is acting strangely and Connie's own heart is in tatters. So with a little help (and a lot of hindrance) from her friends, she sets out to solve the eternal mysteries of love, money, French things (including kisses) and incredibly uncomfortable underwear.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—Connie Pickles, 14, is a nerdy London girl who loves French culture and dreams of one day reuniting with her grandparents, the exotic de Bellechasses. Inspired by Nancy Mitford's The Blessing, Connie decides to help fix her widowed mother's bad luck with men and find her a suitable husband. After creating a list of qualities such as being financially stable, hunky, and a French buff, she and her best friend devise plans to con the unsuspecting suitors into meeting her mom. As disaster and hilarity become inevitable, Connie must figure out how to undo what has been done. Readers are sure to relate to the protagonist. Lonely, confused, and an outcast, she has to deal with issues of love, sex, puberty, honesty, and being a good friend. The climactic party at a friend's house, which involves heavy drinking, seems wild for this audience but Connie is always an observer with a mature outlook. She and Julie discuss the pressure of partying and how it is not for everyone. The book hits contemporary issues with a subplot that deals with Connie's feelings about a vague, ongoing overseas war. The diary format makes the text heartfelt and realistic. An enjoyable, lighthearted read.—Jessica Lamarre, Medford Public Library, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Sabine Durrant has worked as a journalist for the Independent, the Sunday Times, the Observer and the Guardian, and has written two very succesful novels for adults. Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles is her first novel for younger readers. Sabine lives in Wimbledon with her husband and three children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Puffin; First Edition edition (June 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141319402
• ISBN-13: 978-0141319407
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,355,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Durrant is a refreshing new voice in YA fiction..., April 3, 2007

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles (Hardcover)

Fourteen-year-old Constance de Bellechasse (aka Connie Pickles) has never actually had it easy. But lately, even she can admit that her life seems to be spiraling out of control, and there's absolutely nothing she can do to stop it. Her mother, for instance, refuses to make goo-goo eyes at the right men, preferring to fall for every pauper and hairy beast she encounters, as opposed to the suave, sophisticated individuals she has handpicked with her best friend, Julie. Julie, on the other hand, has begun developing at a rapid pace, and while she has started gallivanting around town with older boys, receiving first kisses, and more, Connie feels as if she's stuck in last place, looking awkward, and feeling as if she has no one to turn to. Then there's William. Connie has been friends with him for years, but suddenly he has begun acting just plain awkward towards her. Not only does he become shy when discussing standard topics, but he looks at her in a different way. A way that makes Connie wonder if he's looking for something more than just friendship. Then there's Delilah...Delilah's parents want to believe that she's a good girl, but Connie knows the truth. She may be sweet, but Delilah is a voracious drinker who seems to kiss every guy she meets, and has a penchant for dancing on top of tables. The only thing, in fact, that seems to be normal in Connie's life appears to be the diary she has begun keeping, to write down all of her thoughts, fears, frustrations, and aggravations. It is only through this secret journal that no one but her knows about that Connie can let the true her shine through. From riotous laughs, to misery, and drama galore. It is only through this diary that Connie is able to find some semblance of normalcy, and make it through the years titled "the best years of our lives."

From the very first paragraph in CROSS YOUR HEART, CONNIE PICKLES, I felt a connection with the voice of Connie. While many YA characters seem to throw themselves in your face with their crazy antics from page one, Connie is a much more subtle, laid-back character, whose interests in reading, and writing, take precedence over partying, and going to shows every night. Sabine Durrant has done a marvelous job in penning a novel that brings a pure, wholesome voice to life, yet still managing to make her appealing. Connie is like a British version of Meg Cabot's Mia Thermopolis (of THE PRINCESS DIARIES), only less boy-crazy, and more concerned about her close friends. While Durrant touches upon various hard-hitting situations, such as seeing a parent begin dating, money struggles, sex, underage drinking, war, and first crushes; she also sprinkles the tale with happy moments, such as spending time with your family, close friendships, and a love for French culture. Durrant is a refreshing new voice in YA fiction, whose comprehensive ideas will take her (and Connie) far.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer