Knowing Me, Knowing You

by Helen Bailey

Chantelle 'Channy' Allen is just about enduring her slightly bored teenage existence, trying not to die of embarrassment every time her parents' Abba tribute band perform a cringing medley of hits in front of all her friends.

But then Channy finds out something that turns her world upside down; something that makes perfect sense, but at the same time seems utterly ridiculous. Something that Channy is intent on investigating - despite the distraction of gorgeous French exchange student, Antoine.

317 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Helen Elizabeth Bailey (22 August 1964 – c. 11 April 2016) was a British author who wrote the Electra Brown series of books aimed at a teenage audience.

Reviews

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still remember seeing this book advertised somewhere a few years ago and I'd always been interested in reading it. When I saw it on the shelves at my local library, i checked it out without a moment's hesitation. Knowing Me, Knowing You was a light-hearted read that was funny and sweet, yet dealt with serious issues too.

Knowing Me, Knowing You is a YA contemporary novel about fifteen year old Chantelle Allen, "Channy", who is the daughter of two of the members in a popular ABBA tribute band (hence the title). When Channy finds out a shocking family secret and wants to investigate the matter further, she ends up putting herself in great danger. Channy has now landed herself in a lot of trouble and the results are disastrous.

Knowing Me, Knowing You wasn't quite what I expected, I thought Channy would be more involved in the band and that the ABBA part would be a bigger part of the story. I also wasn't expecting the mystery side of the story, but it did make the book more interesting. It wasn't your typical YA contemporary, as it did have detective/mystery elements to it.

Channy, as a character, was alright. I liked her for the most part, she was awkward (like me) and she LOVES reading, so I could relate to that. I did think that sometimes she could be quite too sarcastic and come across sounding slightly mean. She was also quite gullible and I can't believe the idiocy she displayed in the middle of the book. She completely ignored all stranger danger rules and it ended up leaving her in tons of trouble and could've possibly ended up murdered. She acted very stupid, but at least it gets the message across to not speak to strangers online and then meet up with them.

I loved the secondary characters in this book. Channy's best friend, Taryn, was such an amazing best friend and you could see that they really had a close bond. Crab was also sweet and I wish Channy treated him better, as he was a genuinely sweet guy. I also liked Claire, the daughter of the other two members in the tribute band, she was an adorable child and I wish Channy didn't say such nasty things about her.

The plot was good and there were a lot of things that I weren't expecting when I first started reading, but all of it put together made a fast-paced, interesting story. The romance was sweet and I wish there was a sequel so that I could read further about Channy and her relationship with a certain someone. I thought the ending was extremely cute and I will admit that I was gushing during that part.

Knowing Me, Knowing You was a fun, quick, light-hearted read that was hilarious and often had me chortling. The characters were fantastic, although I did find Channy could be quite insensitive to others, yet I do like her overall. She is just a teenage girl trying to find her footing in the mysterious territory of growing up. She did have her faults, but don't we all? I loved the ABBA references too, they made the story wonderfully unique! The author also tackled the serious issue of Internet danger well and I think that it will send a good message to teenagers, and anyone using the Internet, to be careful what they reveal online. Knowing Me, Knowing You wa a cute read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a humorous, fantastically fun read!

[Keziah · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I was younger I used to really enjoy Helen Bailey, but reading this just recently I found that she tries so hard to create a "cool" and "relatable" character that it misfires completely. It is a little painful to read in the beginning, almost cringe-worthy. The actual plot is pretty good though, I think the idea of finding where you fit in, in this world, along with obvious cybersafety messages is quite nice.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, well I was expecting an ABBA filled book but got a complicated family story. When I first got this book I was really happy to find an ABBA related book then as I read it, it got more and more strange.
Channy ends up being kidnapped when she tries to find her Sperm Daddy and ends up in a psycho's house. Not what I expected at all but overall the book was ok even though I think the title is very misleading.

[Sharyn Potiuch · Rating 4 out of 5]

After learning about Helen Bailey's untimely death I was curious to read one of her books. This was the only book available at my local library. What a delight. This is a young adult book that is a light, engaging and witty read. I liked the twists in the story and her imaginative turn of phrase. For me the ending was a little predictable but I'm sure the younger reader will enjoy it. I wish I could write fiction this well.

[bri · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is plain out horrible.
okay look, i know this was made in the late 2000s or 2010s, where the “i’m not like other girls” era reached its peak, but COME ON. the main character absolutely gets on my nerves. i’m guessing helen bailey was trying to make it appeal to “tweens” back then, but it was extremely lacklustre. she treats crab and the girl she’s babysitting HORRIBLY. even though crab’s trying to talk to her, she’s overwhelmed by “the thought of (…) him hanging around her like some lanky parasite for the entire summer holidays”. BE GRATEFUL HE LIKES YOU???? EVEN IF HE’S BOTHERING YOU JUST BE POLITE ABOUT IT AND TELL HIM HOW HE’S BOTHERING YOU??? YOU DON’T TALK BAD ABOUT HIM??? OR BE RUDE TO HIM??? also, the kid?? is she okay?? channy going off to some random person’s apartment who claims he’s her “sperm daddy” and leaving the kid is very irresponsible. channy is actually so stupid it hurts. YOU DON’T GO TO RANDOM FACEBOOK PROFILES AND ASK IF THEY’RE YOUR DAD. HOW WOULD THEY KNOW??? honestly i hate channy so much. within 100 pages, channy starts being xenophobic and says how she finds it annoying that tourists come to where she lives asking for directions??? that’s a bit… ehhh??? as someone whose parents and I were immigrants in the country this takes place in, i just found that extremely offensive and insensitive. she doesn’t even talk about it again. yet, she falls in love with silly little antoine who’s hot because, oh, you wouldn’t have guessed, he’s French. like channy… baby… make it make sense. you said you don’t like immigrants, yet you’re falling in love with this random guy bc his French accent is sexy?? sit down bae. it’s also incredibly unrealistic. my poor man antoine gets accused for kidnapping channy because of some stupid decision she made but still falls in love with her bc she’s “trés chaud”. antoine you’re amazing but if you speak in French to say “very hot” then there is probably something wrong with you. i know that you’re trying to woo channy because you know that you’re hot and French but come on. helen, i know that you wanted channy to be likeable to us because of what you said to us in the author’s note. i wanted to like her, but I just couldn’t. like why did you write her to gain sympathy from her own kidnapper? it’s almost like you want us to be on the kidnapper’s side. all in all, helen, i love you, but this book is just unrealistic, xenophobic, hypocritical and has a punchable protagonist,

however, on a lighter note, i will say that the book was incredibly easy to read. the cover is nice, though it can be incredibly misleading. i read this book in one day, which is something that happens rarely. it’s on the verge of almost so bad it’s good, but it leans towards the more horrible side. i will say it again, the book is plain out horrible. i get what bailey was trying to do, which is for her characters to be relatable and quirky and “not like other girls” (shown when channy reads Jane Austen books, dresses in a sort of scene emo way etc). i know that i’m probably just being incredibly picky, (doing this incredibly lengthy review) but i know that she tried, which i will applaud. it’s still a one star though.

[hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m really enjoying reading Helen Bailey because her books are easy to read and the characters are easy to relate to and the love story is somewhat a sub-plot until the end yet it keeps me hooked to the very end

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

did not expect it to go there

[Ria [The Beaucoup Review] · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn't what I thought it would be. Not in a bad way, I just wasn't expecting it. When I read the blurb, I thought it would be about a girl who's school has a French exchange program and that she would go and stay in France, then the exchange student in England. But I found the exchange student was a boy [ooops!] and that Channy meets him whilst bunking school.

The middle to end part of the book was my favourite. This is when the surprise of the story takes place, something which I really didn't expect. It's natural that Channy wants to get in touch with her father [was that a spoiler...?], but I didn't see it coming [though maybe I should have!]. If you've read the book, you'll know that the situation Channy gets herself into is madness. The character of her 'father' is so weird. The fact that he's no the obvious kind of... okay, this is really hard to explain without putting a spoiler in, but the fact that his personality and actions aren't those which you would expect.

Knowing Me, Knowing You has a really sweet ending and could easily have a sequel. I also love the name. Whilst being an Abba song, it shows the characters don't always know the people they think they know, so it was an interesting play on words.

Overall it was a fun read with an unexpected twist and I really enjoyed it.

[Gail Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knowing Me, Knowing You by Helen Bailey. Channy is a bridesmaid at her auntie's lesbian wedding & although she's longed for this for years she hates her dress & everything else. This starts out with a very chic lit, rapid talk about makeup, fashion & female angst atmosphere. There seems to be no real substance and I was extremely tempted to put it down and not bother reading on. However, the blurp promised a hidden secret so I read on and I'm glad I did. Channy finds out about her adoption but isn't sure whether it's both or one parent. She goes in search and through careless use of facebook she puts herself in extreme danger. It's a very light hearted look at serious issues and well worth the attention of any YA reader.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holiday Book:

Chantelle Allen is trying not to die of embarrassment every time her parents Abba tribute band performs a cringing medley of hits in front of her friends. But when she finds out about her real father that will make her world go upside down, Chantelle has to investigate despite her distraction of a gorgeous French exchange student, Antoine. Sometimes curiosity is a dangerous thing. I loved this book so much, it was very funny but sometimes Chantelle makes some very bad decisions that will cost her life.

[Below · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book scores points for being an easy read and relatively quick to get through and not feeling like a chore.

My main criticism is that at points the tone of the narrative feels off, particularly in the second half, because she feels too sarcastic for the situation she is put in and not scared enough. I didn't feel like the author went into enough depth and so the central event, the kidnapping, doesn't work as well as it could have done because of the way that the character and narrative is written.

2.5/5.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. Channy is such an exciting character and Helen Bailey deals with some tough but very real issues excelently. There's the perfect balance of humour and happiness with darkness and fear. I like it that Channy comes from a family that isn't perfect, she doesn't look perfect, she's envious with those who look perfect, yet in the end she still gets by. It was still a fictional story as well as being something I could easily realate too.

[caitlin♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Helen Bailey novel and it was absolutely amazing! It really looks at the dangers of being a teenager on the internet and it is just amazing.

Channy is that typical alternative teenager but her life is turned upside down when she finds out that her Abba loving father isn't her real father.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, slightly predictable but overall good

[Davina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed reading this book. :-D

[Vena · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable quick read. I liked the twist although I did see it coming. Was a good read, although I would've enjoyed it more if I was younger.