Cassie

Published November 2008

Holly Holley is so average it hurts ... until her cousin Cassie comes to stay, and Demi Larson takes her under her wing and makes life a whole lot more interesting. And then there is the HOT Raph. Will Holly manage to snag a date? Or will Cassie hold her back from all her ambitions? It's not easy carrying so many burdens, only one of which is being saddled with such a stupid name...

Book 8 in the Girlfriend series - real life, real emotions, awesome stories!

Description

My name is Holly Holley and I have given up routines.

Holly hates her name, her looks and her life.

She isn't in with the right crowd and she has little hope of dating the gorgeous Raph McDonald.

With Cassie staying, she has to move out of her bedroom into the tiny, smelly spare room, and she feels her life couldn't be more unfair.

So when Demi, the coolest girl in school, invites Holly on a make-over shopping spree, she jumps at the chance. Even Cass can see that Holly is stretching her wings.

But will she fly or fall?

Before long Holly learns that appearances can be deceptive and friendship can blossom in unexpected places ...

'I LOVED it. And the humour was great!! Go Holly Holley!!' Alex, 16

Awards

Shortlisted for The Children's Peace Literature Award 2009

Shortlisted for the Territory Read Award 2010

The Author Says

My publishers asked me to write a book for the very popular Girlfriend series and I was happy to oblige. They thought that my first two books [both written from a female’s point of view] showed that I could write fiction that would appeal to, and reflect, the lives and concerns of adolescent girls.

Having agreed to write it, I was a bit stumped as to how I should begin. This was, after all, my first experience of writing a book that someone else had asked for, rather than a book that was in my head and bursting to come out. I started to think about an ex-student of mine, a girl called Cece who was [and is] a sufferer of cerebral palsy. The more I thought about Cece, the more I wanted to write about her. You see, Cece is a young woman whose body does not obey her. Inside, she is perfectly normal – a girl with all the concerns and worries that are typical of her age. But she is trapped in a wheelchair, cannot speak, cannot really look after herself in ways that the rest of us take for granted. How can someone like Cece cope with the dreadful trick that nature has played upon her? I didn’t know. I still don’t know. But I felt her story deserved to be told.

The result was Cassie.