Chicklish: REVIEW: Kiss Date Love Hate by Luisa Plaja

Publisher: Corgi Childrens (2 Feb 2012)
ISBN-10: 0552560979
ISBN-13: 978-0552560979

Review by Alexandra.

I love that bit in books, or rather that moment, when you know you are hooked. I certainly think this novel will have that moment for most readers. It also has a very nice twist before the ending and lots of great characters.

So what’s it about? Well mostly, Lex Murphy. Lex is 15 and struggling at school. Not only is she constantly sent to talk to a teacher, Mr Trench, about her behaviour, but she’s also fallen out with her best friends. Jess buries her head in her school books and Gemma has run off with her ex-boyfriend. Her trusty friend and neighbour, George, appears to still be there for her though, he takes her mind of things by showing her a new computer game, Pygmalions. They take it in turns setting up avatars, or Pygmas to represent all of their friends, giving some of them slightly different looks or qualities than in real life... and...

...the next day, some of those changes appear to be making a presence in real life! Even stranger, the changes they made to pair up the avatars into couples of their choosing are also starting to happen. With this new power in their hands, George and Lex have to decide if they’ll put down some rules or play along as they choose.

There’s a lot going on in this book. The characters all have their own stories to reveal and in different combinations with each other. Also as the story unravels it’s clear there’s more behind the friendship feuds than only Lex’s point of view.

An interesting read that combines romance and fantasy in a clever way. The background is also great – a film-making camp, giving it a different setting to school and the everyday. You’ll have to read it to find out what happens each time the settings of the Pygmas in the game are changed and if the characters will ever go back to normal...

Review by Alexandra.