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Shy Boy
Jake's a busker with a gorgeous voice. Kerry hears him playing in the mall and dreams of meeting him. Jake can't stop dreaming about Kerry, either. If only he wasn't so shy. Then, just as he plucks up the courage to ask her out, he gets his chance for stardom. Can both his dreams come true?
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 16, 2025
I read this with my book club that I run on Instagram where we revisit Point Horror and other books from our childhood - @talespointhorrorbookclub
Tagline - Will Love Be A Hit… or Miss?
Memorable For – A slow burn love story and music industry references
Some Thoughts -
As soon as Kerry sees Jake in the Mall singing with his guitar she falls madly in love with him. Jake is a budding musician who wants to get further in the music industry. He also notices Kerry and he too falls for her and she even inspires a song that he writes and gets the opportunity to record a demo. But love doesn’t always run smoothly, Jake is always busy with work, Kerry wants to progress as a journalist and basically they are both too shy to admit their true feelings for each other!
Other highlights include a mix of friends that show the different levels of relationships and also the ups and downs of friendships, an entertaining Italian restaurant owner who needs his own book, lots of pop culture references and some insight into the music industry and basically just a super cute love story 💖
Tagline - Will Love Be A Hit… or Miss?
Memorable For – A slow burn love story and music industry references
Some Thoughts -
As soon as Kerry sees Jake in the Mall singing with his guitar she falls madly in love with him. Jake is a budding musician who wants to get further in the music industry. He also notices Kerry and he too falls for her and she even inspires a song that he writes and gets the opportunity to record a demo. But love doesn’t always run smoothly, Jake is always busy with work, Kerry wants to progress as a journalist and basically they are both too shy to admit their true feelings for each other!
Other highlights include a mix of friends that show the different levels of relationships and also the ups and downs of friendships, an entertaining Italian restaurant owner who needs his own book, lots of pop culture references and some insight into the music industry and basically just a super cute love story 💖
February 12, 2025
I read this as part of an online book club dedicated to Point Horror, but this is a bit of a change up for Valentines Day.
I'm not really sure what to say about it. If I'd have read it as a teenager, I'm sure I would have loved it, especially as it's from the 90s, but now, as a 40+ woman with teenage kids I found parts of it very odd.
The bits that particularly stood out are:
One of the girls was allowed to go on holiday with her boyfriend of 3 years at the age of 16 and come home engaged.
These young girls are always drinking cappuccino (multiple per day) and champagne. Again, they are only 16!
One girl for her birthday was given a pair of smart leather driving gloves by the newly engaged couple - did they skip straight to middle age????
Then we get onto Jake and Kerry, the main characters of the book. She's 16, he's around 18, she's a budding journalist, and he's chasing a recording contract because he can sing a bit and plays guitar in the coffee shop in the mall. But he does have amazing eyes and floppy hair, so of course he'll make it 🤣
It's all very will they/won't they and teenage angsty, the characters are one dimensional, even the token blonde rich bitchy one, and it's very very predictable. Overall, a miss rather than a hit for me.
I'm not really sure what to say about it. If I'd have read it as a teenager, I'm sure I would have loved it, especially as it's from the 90s, but now, as a 40+ woman with teenage kids I found parts of it very odd.
The bits that particularly stood out are:
One of the girls was allowed to go on holiday with her boyfriend of 3 years at the age of 16 and come home engaged.
These young girls are always drinking cappuccino (multiple per day) and champagne. Again, they are only 16!
One girl for her birthday was given a pair of smart leather driving gloves by the newly engaged couple - did they skip straight to middle age????
Then we get onto Jake and Kerry, the main characters of the book. She's 16, he's around 18, she's a budding journalist, and he's chasing a recording contract because he can sing a bit and plays guitar in the coffee shop in the mall. But he does have amazing eyes and floppy hair, so of course he'll make it 🤣
It's all very will they/won't they and teenage angsty, the characters are one dimensional, even the token blonde rich bitchy one, and it's very very predictable. Overall, a miss rather than a hit for me.
February 13, 2025
A good read, aimed at teenagers but reading them for nostalgia and part of a book club on Instagram @talesofpointhorrorbookclub. I liked Jake and Kerry but Corinne drove me mad!
February 22, 2025
I remember not reading any of the Point Romances as a teen. I picked one up in W H Smiths, flipped to the first page and realised this is not for me - And this book had all those same attributes!
Very telly from the start, wishy washy characters, a girl who gives everything up for the boy she crushes on - blurgh! The only character with a bit of fire in her belly was Corinne, the rich 'friend' of Kerry's who thinks she can win Jake for herself.
But I did get to the end. At this point it reads like historical fiction with all the out of date music recommendations. But, the thing that annoys me m0st about this book is the fact that the cover artist got Kerry's eye colour wrong! She has brown eyes not blue!!!
Very telly from the start, wishy washy characters, a girl who gives everything up for the boy she crushes on - blurgh! The only character with a bit of fire in her belly was Corinne, the rich 'friend' of Kerry's who thinks she can win Jake for herself.
But I did get to the end. At this point it reads like historical fiction with all the out of date music recommendations. But, the thing that annoys me m0st about this book is the fact that the cover artist got Kerry's eye colour wrong! She has brown eyes not blue!!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews