5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent characterization and storyline Cathy (Amazon Australia)

This is a very enjoyable read and I would imagine 9 to 12 year olds could really get into this book. The story reflects modern day life for many people - facing challenges and realities, and working through them. I particularly enjoyed the American settings of both Millie and Amber's homes, along with the cultural nuances as back drop. But most of all, I loved the way that the characters developed throughout the book and the secondary support characters were really well-developed too. The message of truth is always better than the fabricated or exaggerated came through in a good (but not worthy) way and the story hung together and had developing momentum that made you really want to know what was going to happen in the end. The cross-generational aspects to the book were endearing and once finishing the book, I was hoping that there might be a sequel. Highly recommend it and well done to this author for providing such an enjoyable read.

5.0 out of 5 stars

it's all too easy for young children to feel lost and in need ... Morwenna (Amazon UK)

At a time when families take many different forms and divorce, in particular, can be a source of insecurity, it's all too easy for young children to feel lost and in need of a little bit of fantasy. This lovely book highlights how families help to pick up the pieces and set a young girl straight when her fantasies run away with her. A very readable moral tale. I'd love to read a sequel and find out how Amber copes with being a teenager!

5 out of 5 stars

The truth about lies.. Kindle customer India

An eleven-year old gets uprooted from all the luxuries that she has known and has to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere.. As she tries to understand what happened and why, she is told that it complicated.. With her mom looking for a job, her gran cooking inventive dishes, her grandpa constantly inventing stuff, she gets to open her imagination out to her gran's friend's granddaughter.. Who, it turns out, also wants to present a life that is exciting.. Their lies / stories get bigger and bigger and the layers of lies get all the more complicated.. All this spirals to a point where both the girls think they cannot top the other's letter and then are forced into a meeting.. They get ready to meet with a lot of trepidation and end up the best of friends as they realise that both exaggerated to make the other think that their life was not boring..

It was a lovely read that I think pre-teens would be able to relate to.. The loneliness, the need to keep up pretenses, the guilt, seeking friends, the joy of finding good friends.. The truth about lies is that they attract more lies to keep the earlier ones hidden and before you know it, you start living in the world of lies.. The author propagates the message that one is attractive as one is! Just be yourself!