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What's Up With Jody Barton?

4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 · rating details · 53 ratings · 24 reviews

Me and my sister are twins. She's Jolene and I'm Jody. We've both got brown hair, we're both left-handed and we both have these weirdly long little toes which make us look like long-toed mutants. But apart from that, I'd say we're fairly different. Well, actually, we're a lot different . . . It's hard enough being one half of the world's least identical twins, without both...more

Paperback, 249 pages

Published May 31st 2012 by Macmillan

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Oct 23, 2012 Mandee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-lit, realistic-fiction, pan-macmillan, contemporary-fiction, august2012release, for-review, i-have-a-copy, review-on-the-blog, uk

What’s Up with Jody Barton? by Hayley Long is set in Willesden, a suburb of North West London. Jody and twin sister Jolene are sixteen and attend their local high school. They live above their parents' diner and help out cooking and serving food after school and on weekends. One day a new boy, Liam, comes into the diner and Jody falls a little bit in love with him but so does Jolene although she’s totally unaware of how Jody feels. Jody decides to help Jolene get Liam instead.

I really love being...more What’s Up with Jody Barton? by Hayley Long is set in Willesden, a suburb of North West London. Jody and twin sister Jolene are sixteen and attend their local high school. They live above their parents' diner and help out cooking and serving food after school and on weekends. One day a new boy, Liam, comes into the diner and Jody falls a little bit in love with him but so does Jolene although she’s totally unaware of how Jody feels. Jody decides to help Jolene get Liam instead.

I really love being surprised by books and this is a book that definitely stunned me. I read up to page 107 and then when something was revealed I stopped and went right back to the beginning and started re-reading to see if there was anything I’d missed. Obviously I don’t want to give anything away but I was really impressed with how author Hayley managed to paint a picture and then change it all so quickly.

I’m going to keep this short because I’m limited in what I can say but I found Jody to be a smart, funny character who is obsessed with The Doors and River Phoenix. It's always nice when a main character has a hobby or an interest and I really believed that Jody loved the band and the actor, a lot. The story is littered with drawings Jody has done in various notebooks and I liked that addition to the book. Jody’s voice is so strong and both Jody and Jolene sounded like proper teens. The secondary characters felt just as realistic, I had a really clear impression of Jolene as well as the twins’ parents and I really felt for Jody’s friend, Chatty Chong.

This book tackles some topics that teens definitely should be reading about (bullying and sexual orientation) and it does so in a way that will be easy for them to identify with and I hope will provoke some thought on the subjects.

What’s Up With Jody Barton? is a very fun, lively story that’s quick to read while still covering some serious topics relevant to teens today with plenty of pop cultural references that will appeal to teens and adults.

Thank you to the lovely people at PanMacmillan Australia for my review copy.(less)

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Aug 20, 2012 Lyndsey Rushby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

This book tells the story of Jody Barton, maths lover, River Phoenix and Jim Morrison enthusiast and twin to Jolene. All of these different things help to give Jody a very distinct voice and was a great character to read about. Jody was not exactly that character that I thought that I would end up reading about either though. Twists and secrets are added in to make the reader second guess what they’re reading which for me was a good thing. I love to be surprised and this book definitely did that...more

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May 20, 2012 Maria Bavin rated it 5 of 5 stars

When i first saw this book it wasn't one i would usually pick up and read, however i have enjoyed reading this book and was surprised with the layout. I haven't read one of Hayley Longs books before so i didn't know what type of writer she is, and i must say i like how she creates her stories.

She uses illustrations to go along with the text in the book and i really like how she has done this because it is effective in making it more interesting, eye catching and keeps the reader wanting to be in...more

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May 05, 2012 Kirsty (overflowing library) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: uk-author, review-books

What's up with Jody Barton is a fantastic YA contemporary read which I enjoyed thoroughly. It's fun, original and a breath of fresh air in the current UK YA market which has been flooded with paranormal and dystopian fiction.

This review is deliberately short mainly because I don't want to give again thing away or spoil this book for anyone else as I would have been devastated had anyone done that to me. As a warning on that front do not whatever you do flick through this book ahead as you might...more

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May 14, 2012 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Two twins – Jody and Jolene. Completely different. If being a twin wasn’t hard enough, both of them falling in love with the same guy is just going to make matters a whole lot worse! But to add to all of that is Jody Barton’s MASSIVE secret that nobody knows about.
Hayley Long comes back again after her Lottie Biggs series with an AMAZING book! If you’ve read Lottie Biggs series, you’ll be getting twice as much excitement and joy reading What’s Up With Jody Barton!
Everyone should be rushing to bu...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-ya, fiction, uk-ya, ya

It's feels very strange to be writing a review of this book, because, honestly the best advice I can give you before you read this book is not to read anything about this book before you start this book. Seriously, stop reading this review. NOW.

...Only kidding. You know I would never partake in any of the spoiling of the clever story without huge amounts of prior warning. But that doesn't take away from the fact that this is going to be a tricky one. Hmmm...

Let's just start with the things I lov...more It's feels very strange to be writing a review of this book, because, honestly the best advice I can give you before you read this book is not to read anything about this book before you start this book. Seriously, stop reading this review. NOW.

...Only kidding. You know I would never partake in any of the spoiling of the clever story without huge amounts of prior warning. But that doesn't take away from the fact that this is going to be a tricky one. Hmmm...

Let's just start with the things I loved about this one then, shall we? Well, for starters, Jody. Such a loveable character in desperate need of a hug. I can't imagine any teenager who wouldn't identify with Jody on some level or another. Even though their particular dilemma could appear very specific on the surface, we all been there - falling in love with completely the wrong person and developing a slight obsession with River Phoenix....haven't we?

And this is properly funny stuff, we both Jody making a very amusing and informative narrator as well as some cracking and vivid supporting characters. One particular gag, courtesy of Jody and Jolene's mum, was a right corker that made me guffaw into my brew. But I won't spoil it for you here, adding to the list of yet another thing I won't mention about this book. In fact, I loved all the supporting characters and it's not too often that a contemporary YA gets the whole dialogue thing spot on, even old lady speak...

"If they took Tony Blair and Barack Obama and the ayatollah and that tiny little Frenchman with the big heels and that hunky Russian prime minister, Vladimir Rasputin and put them altogether in my front room with a great big pot of tea and a jar of ginger hard-bakes, you'd have every one of the world's problems sorted out by the end of the day. You mark my words!"

Have any truer words even been said? No, they haven't. Tea Rocks. End of discussion.

Right, there's no getting around it. You may or may not have guessed that there is a bit of a twisty twist lurking amongst the pages. Ok, a lot of a twisty twist. And I'm not usually a fan of twisty-twists because most of the time they're not that twisty. But this one of proper...corkscrew perm twisty. Yes, THAT twisty. It's ace.

But now I shall distract you from the twistyness with one of the many brilliant facts that are littered throughout this book. It's no secret that I love contemporary YA, especially contemporary YA set in my lovely home city of London. And this is a proper London book, complete with references to buses that pass through my neighbourhood. So lets leave it to Jody to give us a fact about London...

"I read on the internet that 7,172,091 people live in London. That's more than seven million people. They all wonder down Willesden High Road at some point."

It's true you know. I'm one of that seven million and I have wondered down Willesden High Road. We were going to a gerbil breeder's flat to collect our new gerbils. True story.

Move along now. No twist to see here....

(Just remember to read the book though because it's rather brilliant)
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Jun 01, 2012 Lucy (ChooseYA) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-2012, received-for-review, chooseya-s-recommendations, 2012-challenge-books

This is a hard review to write. This book has a really important and surprising twist that I cannot tell you about as it would ruin the novel, absolutely ruin it. This therefore means that there is a lot I cannot talk about in this review, but I’m going to do my best to give you a spoiler-free review for this awesome book, which means this is probably shorter than a lot of my reviews, but trust me you don’t want spoilers!

I heard about What’s Up With Jody Barton? on twitter, where the lovely Lace...more This is a hard review to write. This book has a really important and surprising twist that I cannot tell you about as it would ruin the novel, absolutely ruin it. This therefore means that there is a lot I cannot talk about in this review, but I’m going to do my best to give you a spoiler-free review for this awesome book, which means this is probably shorter than a lot of my reviews, but trust me you don’t want spoilers!

I heard about What’s Up With Jody Barton? on twitter, where the lovely Lacey (who works for Macmillan in publicity) told a lot of us bloggers about it and I cheekily asked if I could have a copy to review as it sounded great. When it arrived in the post, I instantly started it and in fact had finished it within one sitting.

What’s Up With Jody Barton? tells the story of Jody, twin to Jolene, who is put in that awkward position of liking your sister’s boyfriend. I adored Jody as the character was really well developed, from Jody’s love of RIver Phoenix and Jim Morrison to Jody’s math geek status. As a teenager, I was a little in love with River Phoenix and obsessively watched Stand By Me, Running On Empty and My Private Idaho a zillion times, no exaggeration. I even remember being terrified of injections and my best friend sitting with me for a jab and talking to me about River Phoenix. Then the horrid person with the needle said, isn’t he dead? and then stuck a needle in my arm. Not cool, not cool at all. Diversions aside, I’m sure you can see I really liked Jody and enjoyed reading about the character – because, let’s face it if you listen to The Doors and like River Phoenix then there is no denying your awesomeness.

What’s Up With Jody Barton? deals with identity and being a teenager really well, along with some other very timely and important themes for teens. I think this book is a definite must read as the plot twist is so skilfully written and hinted at throughout the novel, the characters feel very real and the Barton family is brilliantly written, especially the twins’ dad.

What’s Up With Jody Barton is published by Macmillan and available to buy now. I received my copy for free in exchange for my honest review from the publicist.

This review was originally posted at www.chooseya.com on May 30th 2012.
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Jun 19, 2012 Vivienne Serendipity Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is really really sneaky! I envisioned one kind of story and was happily working my way through the book, when... Wham! Bam! I discover I am reading a completely different story! The wool fell from my eyes and I couldn't believe I did not see the events coming. Now because I don't want to spoil it for you, I am going to have to be really careful how I write this review. The issues I long to discuss with you, I can't! As it would ruin the story completely. All I can say is this book deal...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Perks of Being A Wallflower

Shelves: british

Absolutely Incredible.
I have to say there was at least one twist and at first I thought that in this book the word ‘gay’ was just being thrown about. Lots of words were just thrown about- peng, dibbling (which I haven’t heard as much as I have read it here) etc. A lot of very british phrases and words but also a lot that I would say are more Americanized but do add to the realism of the story. Some were thrown about more clearly than others.
This is a book that probably will differ in its meaning...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Hayley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book from start to finish. I read it whenever I could over the course of two days and was grinning when I'd finished. An interesting, unique layout and a perfect, unexpected twist and hilarious humour.

Hayley Long is a wonderful author, and after reading this book I'm going to hunt down her other books and have a good read of them, too.

I recommend this to any teenager that loves books, but also a teenager who has many questions floating around their heads about who they are - and r...more

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May 12, 2013 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2013

As others have said, there's a lot which can't be reviewed here, as there is a lot which shouldn't be given away. I can say, though, that the story is told from the point of view of Jody, and 15 year old teenager. Jody and Jolene are twins, and they have a rather typical relationship, often bickering, but close at the same time. The trouble starts when they both fall for the same boy, with wide ranging consequences.

The style is perfectly pitched at teens, with a simple chatty style, with just th...more

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May 24, 2012 Nina at Death Books and Tea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review: Jody and Jolene are twins who are quite different, as people are. They're also a bit similar. Looking the same. Falling in love with the same person. Except Jody is a bit different. In a way Jolene doesn't know. What's Up With Jody Barton is the story of what happens when the secret gets out.
I feel really bad about writing this review. The big reveal thing is about halfway through the novel, which often happens. But in What's Up, the big reveal is something so big that I feel really bad...more Review: Jody and Jolene are twins who are quite different, as people are. They're also a bit similar. Looking the same. Falling in love with the same person. Except Jody is a bit different. In a way Jolene doesn't know. What's Up With Jody Barton is the story of what happens when the secret gets out.
I feel really bad about writing this review. The big reveal thing is about halfway through the novel, which often happens. But in What's Up, the big reveal is something so big that I feel really bad about saying it and ruining it for you. I'll try to keep this review spoiler free. But if you look at the tags (or if you got here by the tag), or if you have basic knowledge of name variations, then you'll probably guess. Anyway.
The book starts off with a sketch, which forms part of the story. There's lots of these spontaneous illustrations, which adds to the feeling of this being a diary. Also, this book uses a lot of different font sizes to emphasise various things, which is a technique that sometimes work, and sometimes doesn’t. Luckily, in this, it did.
Pacing is ok. The first half is set up, with Jody and Jolene both falling suddenly for Liam. Which actually works for Jolene, as they start going out. Jody is left on the sidelines. But after being left without Jolene with him, and finding out they have similar tastes in music, and they end up alone. In Jody's bedroom. And they kiss. Or try to. This is about halfway through, where the events go downhill and many other things happen.
It's really a bit jilting when you realise you are about halfway through a novel and you don't know something major about your main character (even if it's a trend that seems to be cropping up a bit more). It's great writing on Hayley's part to be able to keep this up for a hundred pages.
It's good characterisation for all the characters. You get a really good look at Jody's feelings, and a good idea of all the supporting characters.
I'm glad that the Barton kids don't end up with Liam. By the end, he shows his true colours as being an absolute a******e, and they're both better off without him. The issues raised in this were handled well,and realistically with many different attitudes to it being shown.
It's written in a young, style of a teenager in love, which is really nice to read. The voice is kept up throughout and it's easy to connect with.

Overall: Strength 4 tea a funny coming of age story that's a good look at what it is to be a [spoiler] teenager today(less)

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May 31, 2012 Agne Rimkute rated it 5 of 5 stars

Such a gripping book! I read it in one day because it was really hard to put down. I loved the characters, especially Jody and her family. There were some very funny moments and some very deep ideas, which any child would find valuable.
The way this book was written is 'awesome' - its not just some boring layout. It has pictures and writing of different sizes to reflect how it was spoken. I just wish that the book was longer and I would definately recommend it to anyone!

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Jan 18, 2013 Nora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Charming and delightful! This novel takes you from frivolity to heart-wrenching melancholy and then to regular happiness. Jody and Jody's twin sister Jolene fall for the same guy at the same time. Hijinks ensue, and then gritty realism ensues. If you want to read a book where caring adults intervene to stop bullying, keep searching.

I liked the illustrations, the math jokes, and the fun British phrases like "jog right off." The one thing I did not like about this book was the design of the text...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Kng rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't wanna spoil it for those who haven't read the book but theres a great twist that totally caught me off guard. The storyline was fairly good but to be honest, i loved the dialogue which came with a blast of English humour! Probably would go on picking up the sequel if theres one.

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Dec 15, 2012 Hillingdon Libraries marked it as awards-promos_2012

Shelves: costa_awards, awards2012

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

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May 08, 2013 Elin Pickfield rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book. Plot twists kept you going and just as I thought it may get dull, it got more exciting. Best Hayley Long book I've read!

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Aug 22, 2012 Zoe Hanna rated it 3 of 5 stars

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!

When I first saw the book I was very intrigued to read it, I fell in love with the bright colours on the cover. This book is very different to what I normally read as normally I do prefer destopian. When I read this book I thought it was good but then I was very surprised to find out that all along the book was about a boy who discovers that he is actually gay. I did not like this book as much, I have nothing agaist the auther but it just wasnt the book for me. I also thought t...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Katy Noyes rated it 4 of 5 stars

This seemed very run-of-the-mill until 'the revelation', which completely surprised me. It then all had to be looked at again and was much more interesting as a result.
A good teen angst story, short and well written.

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Apr 21, 2013 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was better than I expected, I loved the character twist!

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Dec 03, 2012 Stan189 rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is very good!!!!!!!!!

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May 27, 2012 Raimy rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 out of 5

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Mar 01, 2013 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-contemporary, lgbtq, arcs-proofs-review-copies

Review to come in July as part of LGBTQ YA Month.

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Oct 23, 2012 Hayley rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 for this one.

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May 17, 2013 Gina marked it as to-read

May 12, 2013 Qara marked it as to-read

May 09, 2013 Abby marked it as to-read

May 09, 2013 Jessica marked it as to-read

May 08, 2013 Frances marked it as to-read

Apr 23, 2013 Antonia is currently reading it

Shelves: cos-reading-is-awesome

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