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Aux délices des anges
Anya used to dream of moving to Britain to start a brand-new life. But as she sits in a school where nobody understands her, she dreams of Polish summer skies and the place where she once belonged.
Then Anya meets bad boy Dan. He's no angel, but she's sure there's a sweeter side to him. And when things begin to fall apart, Anya realizes she's not alone - how can Dan be such bad news when being with him feels like heaven?
Then Anya meets bad boy Dan. He's no angel, but she's sure there's a sweeter side to him. And when things begin to fall apart, Anya realizes she's not alone - how can Dan be such bad news when being with him feels like heaven?
208 pages, Pocket Book
First published April 27, 2009
54 people are currently reading
1356 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Cassidy
104 books1,705 followersI was born in 1962 in Coventry (scarily ancient, I know). I wrote my first picture book for my little brother when I was eight or nine. I loved making comics, too - pages and pages of picture stories, features and competitions.
I went to Art College in Liverpool, then got a job as fiction editor on the fab and legendary Jackie magazine.
I have worked as agony aunt on Shout magazine and also as an art teacher in the local primary & secondary schools, as well as as a freelance illustrator. These days, I am a full-time author.
I love my family, I love living in the middle of nowhere and I love my work. Of all my jobs, writing has to be the best - it's the perfect excuse to daydream, after all!
I went to Art College in Liverpool, then got a job as fiction editor on the fab and legendary Jackie magazine.
I have worked as agony aunt on Shout magazine and also as an art teacher in the local primary & secondary schools, as well as as a freelance illustrator. These days, I am a full-time author.
I love my family, I love living in the middle of nowhere and I love my work. Of all my jobs, writing has to be the best - it's the perfect excuse to daydream, after all!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews
July 11, 2009
Anya, the protaganist, has just moved to Liverpool from her native Poland.She hates the flat she lives in above the chippy with her parents and younger sister Kazia. She hates not speaking English. Most of all, Anya hates her school, which seems full of crazy arsonists and rude girls. But when Frances McGee sits with her at lunch, and Kurt steals a rat Anya starts to realise Liverpool might not be such a terrible place. And when she finds a boy in angel wings...
I love this book! Cathy Cassidy was Anya, totally and undeniably. This book almost made me cry, though most CC books do! It was a beautiful story, really displaying how immigrants are treated now, when our world is supposed to be fair. The ending was beautiful, I loved the significance of the feather. And Heaven, well, it was described amazingly, and I would love to have a gorgeous boy in my school, even if he did seem a slight pyromaniac.
I would give this 5 stars! And I recommend trying to read Cupcakes & Kisses, it makes you feel slightly warmer towards Lily.
I love this book! Cathy Cassidy was Anya, totally and undeniably. This book almost made me cry, though most CC books do! It was a beautiful story, really displaying how immigrants are treated now, when our world is supposed to be fair. The ending was beautiful, I loved the significance of the feather. And Heaven, well, it was described amazingly, and I would love to have a gorgeous boy in my school, even if he did seem a slight pyromaniac.
I would give this 5 stars! And I recommend trying to read Cupcakes & Kisses, it makes you feel slightly warmer towards Lily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2022
Original bad boy/ good girl trope😈😇
Another -literally- sweet read from my childhood. Again, Cassidy tackles some difficult topics: immigrating to a new country, fitting in, struggling, dealing with parents divorcing etc
I wish it could have focused a little more on their Polish background and showing Anya as more than just 'pretty' instead of instantly going to Badboy™ Dan (with his caramel skin and melted chocolate eyes..) and that love story. Typical happy ending. My black heart doesn't like it
Again- what's with having 12/13 year old characters falling in love, smoking, etc? Story would have worked just as well if they'd been 16.
Another -literally- sweet read from my childhood. Again, Cassidy tackles some difficult topics: immigrating to a new country, fitting in, struggling, dealing with parents divorcing etc
I wish it could have focused a little more on their Polish background and showing Anya as more than just 'pretty' instead of instantly going to Badboy™ Dan (with his caramel skin and melted chocolate eyes..) and that love story. Typical happy ending. My black heart doesn't like it
Again- what's with having 12/13 year old characters falling in love, smoking, etc? Story would have worked just as well if they'd been 16.
April 16, 2022
Easy and light book to read😚
I read this back in 3rd grade and remembered the delicious and fluffy imagery it had up until now. It still has that vibe! All the baked goods described in angel cake made me want to taste some buttery, sweet, fluffy vanilla cupcakes 😍
I read this back in 3rd grade and remembered the delicious and fluffy imagery it had up until now. It still has that vibe! All the baked goods described in angel cake made me want to taste some buttery, sweet, fluffy vanilla cupcakes 😍
April 23, 2025
As someone who finds people who wear Angel wings cringy, it’s a bit odd that I decided to read this considering the synopsis literally states that there’s an Angel wings clad boy. It was mostly because I wanted to see how much of a bad boy this supposed bad boy was. And it turns out the answer is: not very! The most bad boy thing Dan does is set fire to his torn up workbook at the start of the book and that was so out of pocket even the rest of his classmates were like “um, excuse me, why?” (not a direct quote). And in that case he didn’t even have his own lighter! So the most bad thing he did was to tear up the book and if it wasn’t for the other girl then he would’ve had no way to start his short-lived pyromaniac career.
I found the portrayal of the English school kids to be extremely demeaning. They were all zoo animals except for Mr Not So Bad Bad Boy and only because he had “hot” chocolate brown eyes. (The amount of times he was introduced into a scene with that eye description made me start to physically gag). Just because Anya liked them all by the end doesn’t make their portrayal throughout the book any better. It seemed to be that the moral of the story was that if you stay in a place as miserable as England for long enough then the insane zoo animal kids will grow on you. Yay us? A win for Britain?
Anya’s uppity attitude was fuelled by unrealistic expectations. The number one mistake to make when immigrating is to compare your new country to your previous one and Anya did this constantly. Her attitude stunk and it started to justify all the “go back to where you came from if you don’t like it then” comments. Her constant search for some fairytale place within Liverpool was not cute, it was offensive because it meant that Liverpool was always a dump compared to her dreams of some rich royal manor and posh-totty boarding school. And yet, there was no mention of Anya being upper class back in Poland, so why did she have this sudden expectation of being upper class in England? Get real or maybe get rich if that’s the lifestyle what you want. So I think Anya is the problem! Not Liverpool, not England, not the working class kids who are just going about their lives.
This all made it really hard to empathise with Anya because her view of everyone else made her so unlikeable. And that was frustrating because I know from personal experience how difficult it is to move countries so young, even moreso because of the language barrier she faced. So arguably our shared experience should have made me really relate to her, but it didn’t because the way she viewed everyone like dirt under her shoe (except for the guy she liked) was extremely off-putting.
I found the portrayal of the English school kids to be extremely demeaning. They were all zoo animals except for Mr Not So Bad Bad Boy and only because he had “hot” chocolate brown eyes. (The amount of times he was introduced into a scene with that eye description made me start to physically gag). Just because Anya liked them all by the end doesn’t make their portrayal throughout the book any better. It seemed to be that the moral of the story was that if you stay in a place as miserable as England for long enough then the insane zoo animal kids will grow on you. Yay us? A win for Britain?
Anya’s uppity attitude was fuelled by unrealistic expectations. The number one mistake to make when immigrating is to compare your new country to your previous one and Anya did this constantly. Her attitude stunk and it started to justify all the “go back to where you came from if you don’t like it then” comments. Her constant search for some fairytale place within Liverpool was not cute, it was offensive because it meant that Liverpool was always a dump compared to her dreams of some rich royal manor and posh-totty boarding school. And yet, there was no mention of Anya being upper class back in Poland, so why did she have this sudden expectation of being upper class in England? Get real or maybe get rich if that’s the lifestyle what you want. So I think Anya is the problem! Not Liverpool, not England, not the working class kids who are just going about their lives.
This all made it really hard to empathise with Anya because her view of everyone else made her so unlikeable. And that was frustrating because I know from personal experience how difficult it is to move countries so young, even moreso because of the language barrier she faced. So arguably our shared experience should have made me really relate to her, but it didn’t because the way she viewed everyone like dirt under her shoe (except for the guy she liked) was extremely off-putting.
March 12, 2021
Well, there's not a lot new stuff to say about this, but I loved it like always!
This book is most likely my favourite book, the pick-me-up I always read to improve my mood, the book that I relate a lot too, the one that has seen me through a lot. I've read this one so many times, but I still keep going back for more!
I've only read three of Cathy Cassidy's books, Dizzy and Driftwood are the other two, but this one's my favourite. This was most likely the first romance oriented book I read, and I still love it. I might actually have read this book near to 10 times, bu this is the first time I've read it with a Goodreads account.
The main reason, probably, that I love this book so much is that it deals with moving to a new place where you know near to no one. You hate it at first, wanting to go back, missing your friends, your school, the place, the air, the weather, the old accents, etc., etc. My family moves every 4-5 years, so even though I only remember moving and missing a place 3 times, it was enough to make me fall in love with this.
The way almost no one talks to you on the first day, the way their talking is different, even though you're speaking the same language; the way you don't make friends like the ones you had, but they're good friends nonetheless; the way your old friends miss you, but somehow never as much as you miss them; the way you miss your old house, the way you lived, the freedom you had, the things you did, all that and so much more is depicted in this book, and I loved it for that.
Though I've never moved to a place that's as drastically different from where I lived before as in this book, and thankfully never had to face the financial problems the characters face in this, I've still related to it.
The romance is one of the main points of this novel, and I'm reasonably sure this book's what made me fall in love with the romance genre. But more than that, I love the friendship aspect, the way Anya doesn't really like Frankie and Kurt, and feels like she's settling for the best she'll ever get, but then realises these are the best friends she could have ever gotten. I've found, in my experiences with new places.....it's usually the ones that hang on the outside that you should make friends with....those are the best people you'll ever find.
One of the other aspects of this book I like: the bakery, and the cooking, and the cakes, and the muffins, and the milkshakes, and, just, in general, the sweet goodies that I love and now want to eat! (seriously, my stomach is grumbling just from writing the names)
I loved it, once again, and I recommend it to anyone who likes sweet romance, books that deal with new places, and likes cake!
This book is most likely my favourite book, the pick-me-up I always read to improve my mood, the book that I relate a lot too, the one that has seen me through a lot. I've read this one so many times, but I still keep going back for more!
I've only read three of Cathy Cassidy's books, Dizzy and Driftwood are the other two, but this one's my favourite. This was most likely the first romance oriented book I read, and I still love it. I might actually have read this book near to 10 times, bu this is the first time I've read it with a Goodreads account.
The main reason, probably, that I love this book so much is that it deals with moving to a new place where you know near to no one. You hate it at first, wanting to go back, missing your friends, your school, the place, the air, the weather, the old accents, etc., etc. My family moves every 4-5 years, so even though I only remember moving and missing a place 3 times, it was enough to make me fall in love with this.
The way almost no one talks to you on the first day, the way their talking is different, even though you're speaking the same language; the way you don't make friends like the ones you had, but they're good friends nonetheless; the way your old friends miss you, but somehow never as much as you miss them; the way you miss your old house, the way you lived, the freedom you had, the things you did, all that and so much more is depicted in this book, and I loved it for that.
Though I've never moved to a place that's as drastically different from where I lived before as in this book, and thankfully never had to face the financial problems the characters face in this, I've still related to it.
The romance is one of the main points of this novel, and I'm reasonably sure this book's what made me fall in love with the romance genre. But more than that, I love the friendship aspect, the way Anya doesn't really like Frankie and Kurt, and feels like she's settling for the best she'll ever get, but then realises these are the best friends she could have ever gotten. I've found, in my experiences with new places.....it's usually the ones that hang on the outside that you should make friends with....those are the best people you'll ever find.
One of the other aspects of this book I like: the bakery, and the cooking, and the cakes, and the muffins, and the milkshakes, and, just, in general, the sweet goodies that I love and now want to eat! (seriously, my stomach is grumbling just from writing the names)
I loved it, once again, and I recommend it to anyone who likes sweet romance, books that deal with new places, and likes cake!
June 21, 2009
This is a fun book about a young girl's experiences as she moves to Liverpool in the UK from her home in Poland.
As Anya struggles to fit in at her new school, she deals with issues of peer pressure, bullying and loneliness. As the story progresses, Anya discovers that her new friendships give her the strength to deal with the trials and disappointments that come her way.
There is a lot of humour and fun in this novel, but it is also a great story for young girls to encourage them to believe in themselves and work at creating strong friendships. Cathy Cassidy is a very positive and encouraging writer who creates characters and situations that young girls (tween/pre-teen) can relate to.
I have written a detailed review of this book at Suite101.com
As Anya struggles to fit in at her new school, she deals with issues of peer pressure, bullying and loneliness. As the story progresses, Anya discovers that her new friendships give her the strength to deal with the trials and disappointments that come her way.
There is a lot of humour and fun in this novel, but it is also a great story for young girls to encourage them to believe in themselves and work at creating strong friendships. Cathy Cassidy is a very positive and encouraging writer who creates characters and situations that young girls (tween/pre-teen) can relate to.
I have written a detailed review of this book at Suite101.com
June 18, 2016
Such an amazing for girls in middle school! It's about this girl Anya who moves to Britan from Poland. It's her first move ever and things hasn't been easy on her. First of all all the other girls at her school find her different cause she doesn't speak that good of english. Secondly she's in love with bad boy Dan... who actually isn't that bad in the inside. There's really more to Dan then just a bad boy. Also for Anya being with Dan feels like heaven, but he just has to be bad news to her parents! I strongly reccomend this book for people who struggle with moves especially that we're in an international school and many people move in and out! I'm really enjoying this book. I love the conflicts and drama and how the author organizes it so you won't ever get bored reading this EVER <3 I am in LOVE with this BOOK :P
October 21, 2021
i read this when i was like 12 and the way she changed her name felt like a hate crime. i'm so sorry ania sweetie you don't deserve this.
also it was barely about the struggles of being a polish immigrant in the uk so it's soooo wonderful that this is as close as i got to representation as a kid 😍
also it was barely about the struggles of being a polish immigrant in the uk so it's soooo wonderful that this is as close as i got to representation as a kid 😍
January 18, 2015
Ayant adoré la série des Filles au Chocolat, j'attendais avec impatience la sortie d'Aux Délices des Anges !
La plume de l'auteure est toujours aussi agréable à lire et autant dire que j'ai dévoré le roman (la couverture donne aussi envie n'est-ce pas ? ^^).
On découvre Anya, âgée de 13 ans qui doit quitter ses amis et son pays, la Pologne, pour aller s'installer en Angleterre avec sa famille. Son père a trouvé du travail là-bas et espère pouvoir améliorer leurs conditions de vie.
Tout ne va pas être facile, surtout pour la jeune fille de s'adapter à ce nouvel environnement. Au début elle se retrouve seule, se fait quelques amis et fera aussi la connaissance de Dan, un bad boy au cœur tendre qui n'a pas une vie facile non plus.
Le sort s'acharnera sur Anya car quand elle commencera enfin à aimer sa nouvelle vie, c'est le travail de son père qui posera problème et qui va les contraindre à rentrer.
Heureusement que leurs amis seront là pour les aider...
Joli roman, jolie histoire même si les romans de Cathy Cassidy sont destinés à un public plutôt jeune, j'ai beaucoup apprécié et je vous le recommande ! :)
http://www.gamesofbooks.com/2014/11/2...
La plume de l'auteure est toujours aussi agréable à lire et autant dire que j'ai dévoré le roman (la couverture donne aussi envie n'est-ce pas ? ^^).
On découvre Anya, âgée de 13 ans qui doit quitter ses amis et son pays, la Pologne, pour aller s'installer en Angleterre avec sa famille. Son père a trouvé du travail là-bas et espère pouvoir améliorer leurs conditions de vie.
Tout ne va pas être facile, surtout pour la jeune fille de s'adapter à ce nouvel environnement. Au début elle se retrouve seule, se fait quelques amis et fera aussi la connaissance de Dan, un bad boy au cœur tendre qui n'a pas une vie facile non plus.
Le sort s'acharnera sur Anya car quand elle commencera enfin à aimer sa nouvelle vie, c'est le travail de son père qui posera problème et qui va les contraindre à rentrer.
Heureusement que leurs amis seront là pour les aider...
Joli roman, jolie histoire même si les romans de Cathy Cassidy sont destinés à un public plutôt jeune, j'ai beaucoup apprécié et je vous le recommande ! :)
http://www.gamesofbooks.com/2014/11/2...
July 24, 2020
I really love this book because it is full of adventure! It always makes you want to read on because at every corner there is a twist that you can't really understand. It also tells a story that has probably happened to somebody in this world today. That's what I like about this book because it isn't so fantasy like that it's hard to believe it could happen. My favourite character is Anya because she is the main character and she is the one who fixes everything. My least favourite character is Lily because she thinks she is the best at everything and she is mean. I would really recommend this book!!!
January 28, 2022
cathy cassidy is one of the best romance authors of all time. point made.
also I’m aware I’m way out of the target age demographic for this book but it was SO SWEET
and the immigrant experience= very important
also I’m aware I’m way out of the target age demographic for this book but it was SO SWEET
and the immigrant experience= very important
December 17, 2025
Proves that there is always good people amongst the bad.
December 31, 2024
cute lil book that was almost as good as i remembered it being when i was 11. i gave it an extra star for the nostalgia lol
i liked anya's personal growth and how it mirrored dan's, in the end they both had a lot to learn from each other. the book tackled the struggles of immigration and messy families well though there could've been greater emphasis on side characters and their own struggles.
i rated it as a tween book and as far as the genre goes this deserves the four stars
i liked anya's personal growth and how it mirrored dan's, in the end they both had a lot to learn from each other. the book tackled the struggles of immigration and messy families well though there could've been greater emphasis on side characters and their own struggles.
i rated it as a tween book and as far as the genre goes this deserves the four stars
August 28, 2025
+ bad boy with heart of gold x shy quiet transfer student trope... ATE!!!!! impeccable no notes
- the side character whose defining characteristic was that she's chubby and likes eating food... and by the end she goes vegetarian and we just Have to know about how she's eating healthier and losing weight... yikes
- the side character whose defining characteristic was that she's chubby and likes eating food... and by the end she goes vegetarian and we just Have to know about how she's eating healthier and losing weight... yikes
August 10, 2024
this is my hush hush
Read
December 10, 2024Un portait de la société consumériste sédentaire et de la thalassocratie inhumaine que nous font vivre les figures fascistes encrées dans notre patrimoine. Bouleversant
August 11, 2020
ANYA
Our main character is Anya, a twelve year old Polish girl who has moved to Liverpool with her family. What more do I have to say other than she's a wasted opportunity and a completely dull character? The description of the characters describes Anya as pretty and it strikes me as strange because I have never seen a main character described solely as "pretty" before, but that's because that's all there is to her character.
DAN
Dan is her Badboy™ love interest, a twelve year old idiot who is continuously described with such flowery language that he seems to be almost entirely made of chocolate. His skin is "caramel", his hair is "jet black", his eyes are "melted chocolate." To help out his mum's bakery business he also wears angel wings and hands out leaflets in the street and every description of this kid is sickening.
He sets fire to his exercise book and then flips over his desk in English class because he doesn't want to read his essay about his divorced parents out loud. A totally acceptable action, of course, that most certainly is not a red flag for violent behaviour.
He kisses Anya almost immediately on the first day they've known each other, waits outside her house uninvited for an hour until she comes out to talk to him, and turns up in the middle of the night to take her on a tour of Liverpool, and somehow nobody notices that she's gone.
Then he literally tells Anya he's bad news and she should stay away from him because he's a Badboy™. He has all these stupid friends who talk like they're in the mafia, and we're continuously told that he's a Badboy™ although all he does is set fire to the book and ignore Anya once.
Near the end of the book, he kisses this other girl called Lily under the mistletoe and Anya understandably freaks out because he had just told her they were dating, but oh no it's not his fault because Lily basically jumped him, it's not like he could have pushed her away at all of course not, it's all Lily's fault.
ANYA'S FRIENDS
Anya has these two friends called Kurt and Frankie, also probably 12/13 years old, and they're the Outcasts™.
Frankie is a goth who hates boys because they break your heart, and warns Anya against Dan yet for some reason sticks up for him when he kisses Lily.
Kurt is a weird hippie vegetarian kid in odd clothes who steals a teacher's pet rat for no reason and anyway he and Frankie get together and yes it is boring and painful.
THE COOL KIDS™
Once again, Cathy Cassidy attempts to convince the reader that a gang of twelve year olds are the coolest kids in school and everybody is in awe of them.
LILY
Lily is the Mean Girl™, also probably 12/13 years old yet wears heavy makeup, high heels and short skirts to school, and smokes. She is for some reason obsessed with Dan and warns Anya off by telling her "he's mine" like he's some kind of possession.
STUPID FAIRYTALE ENDING
Everything works out perfectly and sweetly. Twelve year olds end up in serious romantic relationships, Anya's dad gets a great job offer as a manager despite the fact that he has no past experience, her mum ends up working in the bakery with Dan's mum, they move to a better flat, everything is totally sweet and sickening.
THE POLISH THING
Aside from a few mentioned traditions and like two Polish words, this book could have been about an English girl. A story about an immigrant struggling to fit in would be interesting but nah Cassidy just wanted to write yet another stupid twelve year old romance and it shows. She makes barely any effort to write about the culture.
I don't know what terms for family members are in Poland, but I doubt it's Mum, Dad, Gran and Grandad, she talks like an English girl, and apparently doesn't miss her family back in Poland at all.
I don't really know why I make myself read these books but they are definitely entertaining if nothing else.
Our main character is Anya, a twelve year old Polish girl who has moved to Liverpool with her family. What more do I have to say other than she's a wasted opportunity and a completely dull character? The description of the characters describes Anya as pretty and it strikes me as strange because I have never seen a main character described solely as "pretty" before, but that's because that's all there is to her character.
DAN
Dan is her Badboy™ love interest, a twelve year old idiot who is continuously described with such flowery language that he seems to be almost entirely made of chocolate. His skin is "caramel", his hair is "jet black", his eyes are "melted chocolate." To help out his mum's bakery business he also wears angel wings and hands out leaflets in the street and every description of this kid is sickening.
He sets fire to his exercise book and then flips over his desk in English class because he doesn't want to read his essay about his divorced parents out loud. A totally acceptable action, of course, that most certainly is not a red flag for violent behaviour.
He kisses Anya almost immediately on the first day they've known each other, waits outside her house uninvited for an hour until she comes out to talk to him, and turns up in the middle of the night to take her on a tour of Liverpool, and somehow nobody notices that she's gone.
Then he literally tells Anya he's bad news and she should stay away from him because he's a Badboy™. He has all these stupid friends who talk like they're in the mafia, and we're continuously told that he's a Badboy™ although all he does is set fire to the book and ignore Anya once.
Near the end of the book, he kisses this other girl called Lily under the mistletoe and Anya understandably freaks out because he had just told her they were dating, but oh no it's not his fault because Lily basically jumped him, it's not like he could have pushed her away at all of course not, it's all Lily's fault.
ANYA'S FRIENDS
Anya has these two friends called Kurt and Frankie, also probably 12/13 years old, and they're the Outcasts™.
Frankie is a goth who hates boys because they break your heart, and warns Anya against Dan yet for some reason sticks up for him when he kisses Lily.
Kurt is a weird hippie vegetarian kid in odd clothes who steals a teacher's pet rat for no reason and anyway he and Frankie get together and yes it is boring and painful.
THE COOL KIDS™
Once again, Cathy Cassidy attempts to convince the reader that a gang of twelve year olds are the coolest kids in school and everybody is in awe of them.
LILY
Lily is the Mean Girl™, also probably 12/13 years old yet wears heavy makeup, high heels and short skirts to school, and smokes. She is for some reason obsessed with Dan and warns Anya off by telling her "he's mine" like he's some kind of possession.
STUPID FAIRYTALE ENDING
Everything works out perfectly and sweetly. Twelve year olds end up in serious romantic relationships, Anya's dad gets a great job offer as a manager despite the fact that he has no past experience, her mum ends up working in the bakery with Dan's mum, they move to a better flat, everything is totally sweet and sickening.
THE POLISH THING
Aside from a few mentioned traditions and like two Polish words, this book could have been about an English girl. A story about an immigrant struggling to fit in would be interesting but nah Cassidy just wanted to write yet another stupid twelve year old romance and it shows. She makes barely any effort to write about the culture.
I don't know what terms for family members are in Poland, but I doubt it's Mum, Dad, Gran and Grandad, she talks like an English girl, and apparently doesn't miss her family back in Poland at all.
I don't really know why I make myself read these books but they are definitely entertaining if nothing else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2009
Anya, her mother and sister Kazia have moved from their home in Poland to Liverpool, England. Her father had moved there three years before to help start a business give his family a better life. Anya finds it difficult in school. She is afraid to speak because her English is not real good. She is drawn to the school's bad boy Dan. Through her relationship with Dan she learns that things are not always what they seem. Her mom helps out Dan's mother in her shop and makes a new friend. Because of the kindness shown to Dan's mother, it seems that one miracle after another is answered. This is definitely a feel good story. In real life things don't always have a happily everafter ending. The ending of this story was not unbelievable. There were still problems that no one could solve and that is what made it realistic. I loved the book. This is the first time I had read anything by this author but I am sure I will be reading more.
June 9, 2013
Really enjoyable. A teen book full of romance, problems and happy endings. It tells the story of Anya, a girl from Poland. She moves to Liverpool, for her dad's work and discovers that England is not all the book says. School is a struggle, home is dreadful and the only way she can survive the cold and lonely months is to make friends. She makes friends, enemies, cakes and slowly her life begins to patch together, whether for better or for worse is for you to decide!
A first class teen read and recommendable to all girls who enjoy a fast, easy but heart-warming story.
A first class teen read and recommendable to all girls who enjoy a fast, easy but heart-warming story.
May 11, 2015
2.5 Stars.
The story is mediocre, more on the 'Good' side. Even though the character development and turning points are fast paced, it would make a fair book for someone who is in middle school or a bit younger than that. Another thing is, how can Dan kiss her so soon? That was Awkward and way too immediate. I also think Cathy Cassidy failed to make Dan look really, really bad boy. What I liked in the book is how a young girl has to move to a different city, and how different and difficult it is. And I also loved the last chapter. My favorite character would be Kurt.
The story is mediocre, more on the 'Good' side. Even though the character development and turning points are fast paced, it would make a fair book for someone who is in middle school or a bit younger than that. Another thing is, how can Dan kiss her so soon? That was Awkward and way too immediate. I also think Cathy Cassidy failed to make Dan look really, really bad boy. What I liked in the book is how a young girl has to move to a different city, and how different and difficult it is. And I also loved the last chapter. My favorite character would be Kurt.
August 16, 2020
Lovely book for the winter season seeing as it’s set around that time of year. A light is shone on those who seek a home in another country and Cathy did an excellent job with that. Dreamy Dan. Would like to see more of a friendship between Anya and that annoying girl. I love coming back to all Cathy books and I’m in my twenties!
August 4, 2013
When Anya moves to Liverpool with her mum and sister Kazia to live with her dad she is surprised to find that it is nothing like she had imagined. I will say no more so i don't spoil the reading experience but this book is full of ups and downs.
March 25, 2016
A vrai dire, je n'ai pas du tout aimé cette histoire. J'aurais peut-être dû la lire dans mon enfance o/
La fin est ennuyeuse et ressemble aux contes de fée. A un moment même, je commençais à me demander si le héros (j'ai oublié son nom tiens) est humain ou non xD
La fin est ennuyeuse et ressemble aux contes de fée. A un moment même, je commençais à me demander si le héros (j'ai oublié son nom tiens) est humain ou non xD
November 28, 2012
I read this book thrice!!
Must read
Must read
December 8, 2016
this book is so cute and sweet and i loved it
March 29, 2013
It was really cute. I loved how she tries to solve her family problems as well as have a great social life with her friends and her crush. Cathy Cassidy is an amazing writer. Go Cathy!!!! :)
August 19, 2014
I love the setting of this book, which is in Liverpool, the city where my parents once lived in :) I can also see the problems immigrants face like discrimination.
February 8, 2016
Such a fun and cute story.
April 14, 2023
Une histoire très touchante où on passe par plein d'émotions. Cathy a encore fait du bon boulot !
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