A sort of synopsis of This is me from now on
Evie and her two best friends, Nisha and Lily, are happy with their lives and friendship until the day Evie gets a new neighbor, Francesca. Francesca is different, she is not like the other girls Evie knows, she both dresses and acts differently. When Evie is forced to work with Francesca on a school project it's a life changing experience.
The girls suddenly has this brilliant idea, they're doing a project on the side, matchmaking for their teacher. It is so obvious who the lady is in love with, the woman just needs a few pushes in the right direction. Everyone needs a bit of happiness and needs to feel loved, right? What harm can they possibly do?
Nisha and Lily doesn't like that Evie spends so much time with the new girl and the three of them have a fall out. On top of every thing that's going on in Evie's life her big crush asks her out on a date.
My thoughts:
This is me from now on is a sweet and funny story and I bet tween girls would love it. The book reminded me of the time when I was the same age as the main character, Evie. I loved reading the book and remembering things from the time when I was younger, it was great fun.
I think most girls can relate to some of the issues Barbara Dee writes about, such as dealing with jealousy when you feel like your best friend is drifting away and bonds with another girl. You get scared, hurt and insecure which in some cases will result in anger(even when you're not really angry).
Evie is a sensible girl, perhaps a bit to sensible? When she meets Francesca it's like she got a vitamin shot. It changes Evie view on what she wants and she learns to be more true to herself as a person. Sometimes we need to take some chances and get our butt out of our comfort zone. The readers get a good feeling of the times of change that's a head of young people in their tweens and teens. We change, whether we like it or not things seldom stay the same as when we were kids.
Francesca lives with her aunt and the family quarrels about where she's best of staying. Her parents have almost abandoned her, the just visit when they feel like it. It just broke my heart, no wonder she is so obsessed with making everyone she likes happy.
The one thing I would have liked to be explored a bit further in the novel was Francesca and her life. Perhaps there is room for a sequel?
This is me from now on is recommended for tween girls or adult girls like me who likes to remember those days ;) It is a light read that I bet young girls would devour on a warm summer day.
The cover:
Gives me all the right associations, summer, friends and fun.
My rating of this book:
4 stars out of 5.
Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
If you have reviewed this book then give a shout in the comment section below and I'll add your link.
Carrie's YA Bookshelf:
This book is brilliant!! I am a brand new Barbara Dee devotee. I will be searching out her other two titles this weekend and squeezing them into my busy reading schedule.
Barbara Dee on This is me from now on:
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Read the first chapter for free
Pages(paperback): 240
Publisher: Aladdin MIX/Simon & Schuster
ISBN 13: 9781416994145
Full disclosure: Received from the author for honest review.
This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository(I'm not an affiliate).
