Holly

Girls Like You #5

by Kate Petty

The daughter of a teacher and half Welsh, Holly has long black hair and brown eyes. When she visits the rich boy she met on holiday, at his country home, she's more than a little thrown by his lifestyle. Will she be able to hold her own, or will she be overwhelmed by it all?

Genres: Young Adult

155 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Writer/Editor Kate Petty (born Katharine Chapman) was the innovative author of more than two hundred books for children, including fiction, nonfiction, and picture books. Her award-winning pop-up books with illustrator Jennie Maizels and her collaborations with the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, are among her most popular works.

She died at age 55 from cancer.

Reviews

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember discovering this one in the local library many years ago. This one also made me feel uncomfortable but again Petty covers many tricky topics such as anorexia, class division and fox hunting!

Holly met Maddy in Barbados and has a sleepover with her close friends where she tells them they need to have a holiday romance. She is going to stay with Jonty who lives in Warwickshire with his very wealthy family. Holly is not from a rich family at all but is highly intelligent. She feels like a fish out of water and finds herself being defensive. She also struggles when Jonty is nice to Tamara who as far as she is concerned is a pain in the backside. However things take a strange turn when Jonty's best friend ends up escorting her to a ball.

Although I still found parts of this uncomfortable to read, I appreciated how Petty portrays how difficult it is to have a relationship when there is a massive class divide. I was less shocked by Holly's behaviour and realised it wasn't all her fault.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Girls Like You book. I remember this one wasn't as good, but still this series is pretty valid and makes good, truthful points about growing up.