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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun, light read, May 17, 2004
The Mates, Dates series rotates among four friends: Lucy, Izzie, Nesta and TJ. This time it's Izzie's turn, and the British four are getting ready to enjoy the last of summer before Year Ten begins. They decide to symbolize their friendship with a navel piercing --- but some chicken out and then Izzie's Mom finds out and makes her take it off. She even reads Izzie's diary --- why can't she just understand that Izzie needs her space to experiment? New hottie on the scene Josh helps Izzie experiment with drinking, smoking various substances, late night escapes and some serious making out. His friend Spider is seriously creepy, too, and embarrasses Izzie at her band's gig. Her friends begin to avoid her, and suddenly Izzie is way past her comfort level. This latest installment in the popular Mates, Dates series reminds readers where some seemingly harmless mistakes could lead. Everyone can relate to falling for the wrong person when growing up. While British stories and friend quartets seem to be everywhere in teen girl fiction these days, this series manages to keep it real with issues to accompany the fun, light reading. (...)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great stuff for girl teens, May 10, 2006
As i bookseller with specialty in kids and teens, I must really give this series the "thumbs up"!
They are great "light reading", but with substantial contents for their target group. A series with all the right messages - trust in yourself, value your good friendships, be your own person, don't succumb to group pressure etc. BUT they are not annoyingly politically correct, and they are written in a way that will appeal to most age 11-14 girls.
They deal with friendships, first loves, puberty, parents, siblings, school and issues like 'what am I good at' and 'what do I want to be professionally' etc.
The first 6 books are narrated by 4 different girls (who are all friends), which gives a good insight to how different girls in a group see, react towards and percieve the various situations and issues.
Reading "guidelines":
The first five books are good from age 11 and up, from book six the girls mature somewhat and, depending on the individual of course, readers should be a year or two older.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Izzie Goes Wild, May 3, 2004
Izzie is back in this sixth volume of the series. The girls are on break and getting ready to return to school at a new level (10th). The new level brings thoughts of growing up and maturity. As Izzie wants more responsibility, she shows it in a very odd way. She becomes a rebel and rather untrustworthy as she becomes unable to easily handle a more-adult world. Drinking, drugs and body piercing become Izzie's new pastimes as well as a new boy named Josh. Tempers flare between her and her mother as she gets more out of control. But in the end all is well and Izzie is able to turn her back on her evil ways. This is the oddest story in the series so far. While Izzie faces some very real issues in this story, her sudden reversal at the end is rather unbelievable. It is also typical that the girls are close mates except when boys are concerned. Once a boy enters the picture one will never believe the others about him.
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