Arleen
When I read the reviews at the front of the book from the staff at Orion, from the managing Director until possably the tea lady. I thought I was in for a good read. I started the book but almost gave up with the many F words and a couple of C words as well. I found the story boring and not to my taste. Until, it all started to came together and then I was pleased I had continued.

I was amazed that if you have a foster child you mustn't hug or tell the child you love them, I found that dreadful. No wonder Bess found 'love' with Boy. The consequence of that being an unwanted pregnancy. Living with foster parents who then had their own child was very difficult for Bess. She really was the odd one out. Kisses and cuddles for Riss but none for her as it wasn't allowed. There must be a reason for that rule but I can't understand it. Her saving grace was her friend Eshal and her family. At least she had someone to confide in.
The abortion clinic was very well written and I was shocked, as I had no idea what went on to expel a foetus. My heart went out to Bess to go through that. I am pleased that the book ends with Bess going to college and following her dream.
I give it 7/10

Rachel
I loved this book so much. I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t stop reading. My heart just went out so much to Bess, who has been dealt such a difficult hand. I couldn’t stand Lisa, obviously, and Rory was a complete coward. Clarissa seemed very sweet, though, and was the only one who thought of Bess as her family. I hated Boy from the start, but understood how Bess, vulnerable and starved of affection as she was, could be sucked into a relationship with him. I loved how all the characters, however good or bad they were, felt human and authentic. The style of writing was beautiful and captivating and the plot was heartbreaking. Loved every second.
10/10

Eve
I found this book sad. Bess had not ever been loved in her 15 years, it seemed that all she ever wanted was a normal family life, which included love she thought she had found this in Boy, unfortunately he was far too self centred and a flawed person himself.
The story of the arranged marriage seemed to be well dealt with, although I felt that the mother dealt rather kindly with Eshal when she refused.
The book ended well with the girls still close friends. Bess was lucky to get a social worker that helped her rather that the first one, Henry, who did not understand her at all. The abortion was quite scarey and Bess must have been in a bad way to contemplate doing this to herself. This book was worth reading- not sure if I would call it enjoyable, it is a difficult read. I would give it a score of 8

Carolyn
Just to say I really couldn't get into this book and only managed about 100 pages before I gave up. Not sure if I should give a score but it would be a 3.

Kirsty
I must be honest and admit that it took me about 50/60 pages before I really started getting into this book. I struggled at first with the dialogue and the lack of apostrophes during conversations. It's only when I realised it was actually in a type of diary format that this made more sense. What I loved about this book is how Kirsty covers so many 'forbidden' and/or sensitive topics such as grooming, racism, forced marriage, the care system and abortion and manages to weave it into an interesting and thought provoking storyline. It is not the sort of book I would have thought to pick up and neither is it the type of book I would go out of my way to recommend to someone. However, on saying that I do think it is a book that should be made available in all secondary schools due to the topics it covers. There was a great variety of characters and I changed my thoughts and feelings on them as I went through the book. I wasn't a huge fan of Bess at the start but she grew on me and my heart went out to her the more I got to know her life. It made me sick how her foster mother blatantly treated her differently from Clarissa. I was also saddened to read that as a foster parent that she wasn't allowed to hug her either. Mind you, I don't think she would have even if she could!! I could not abide the way her eyes lit up at the thought of more money from Bess having a child and how she was more concerned about that than what Beth was going through. I really admired Clarissa for her maturity, understanding and the way she looked out for Bess. Considering she is only 11 years old she definitely had a grown up head on her shoulders. I was absolutely disgusted by Boy and his actions throughout the book. I loved seeing the friendship between Bess and Eshal develop throughout the book. My heart did go out to Eshal as she was in such an awkward position with her family and I was annoyed with Bess on several occasions as she overlooked her friends problems. I was both shocked and pleased by the reactions of Eshal's parents who I really liked from the start. I found them to be much better parents towards Bess than her own so called foster parents were. Overall I found it to be an eye opening and intriguing read that covered an excellent amount of topics that need to be discussed more openly.
I would give this book a 7

Sonia
Although I am not fond of this style of writing - first person, present tense - I did quite enjoy it in the end. I confess to being able to skim read most of it without losing any of the sense and although I did not find it riveting or a page turner it was quite an interesting story and felt very true to life in many ways. Of necessity I suppose many strands of the story were designed to pull at the heart strings but it was not overly sentimental and felt quite realistic. (It would be very interesting to see what an American author would make of this story - I suspect we might have ended up with a very different book but that as they say is another story.) I would give it almost 6 out of 10.

Average score : 7 out of 10