The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield, #2)

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The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield #2)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 10,692 ratings · 585 reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Three Aussie girls become pen pals with three guys at another school in this delightful, high-spirited read by Feeling Sorry for Celia author Jaclyn Moriarty.

Told entirely through letters, diary entries, emails, and other writing, Moriarty's novel introduces us to Emily, Lydia, and Cassie -- all students at Ashbury High -- who begin writing to...more

Paperback, 340 pages

Published April 1st 2005 by Scholastic Paperbacks (first published November 30th 2003)

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Apr 01, 2013 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, a-z-book-2012, i-ve-just-read-you-and-i-love-you, aussie-2012, 2013, aussie-2013, aussie-aussie-aussie-oi-oi-oi, crushworthy-guys

Every four years, I turn into this crazed figure skating fan. I remember the 2002 Winter Olympics in particular because I lived and died with Michelle Kwan four years earlier and 2002 was going to be HER year. In the long program, Sarah Hughes (aka Sarah Who?) skated first and threw down a flawless performance. Triple toe loop-triple loop, triple salchow-triple loop -- technically and stylistically, it was pretty damn perfect. However, with Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya still wa...more

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Aug 17, 2010 oliviasbooks rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those who like letter novels and multi-angled tales

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, ya-contemporary, read-2010, stays-with-me, multiple-povs-letters, author-from-down-under, laugh-a-little, love-story-romance

I liked this very much, but I didn't expect less after reading Feeling Sorry for Celia. It was partly hilarious, partly cute and chicklitish, partly insightful, deep and disturbing and always interesting and cleverly crafted. Highly recommended.

What puzzled me first was the chronology. The novel consists of letters between three boy-girl-pen-pal-couples, diary entries, e-mails, unsuccessful efforts to fill a notebook for aspiring writers, special agent assignments, a court script and more. Occa...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jo by: Flannery

Shelves: 2012, down-under, ya

I ramble more about this book and Feeling Sorry for Celia here but this is the basic gist of it...

Jo’s Official Rating.
If the first half of this book was a person, I would send them a letter with (um.. this analogy isn’t going to work but I’ve already committed) an orange matchmaker taped to the bottom of it. Because they are my favourite.
If the last few chapters of this book were a person, I would send them a letter with a lime Wine Gum taped to it. Because I’m not that fussed about them.

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Aug 02, 2011 Reynje rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, read-2011, young-adult, dual-or-multiple-pov

If you have not yet read the brilliant Finding Cassie Crazy by Jacyln Moriarty, please do yourself a favour, stop reading this pitiful attempt at a review, and go track down a copy. Okay? Seriously, do it.

If you’ve decided not to immediately take my advice and you’re still hanging around this page, alright, I’ll try to make it worth your while.

So, here goes.

Five Reasons to Read Finding Cassie Crazy (you really don’t need all five, any one of these will do, but whatever, I’m feeling verbose an...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Thebookbutterfly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie, crush-worthy-love-interests, contemp, funny-stuff, epistolary, favorites, multi-pov, rocks-my-socks-off, swoonworthy-writing, unputdownable, ultimate-favorites

I finished re-reading this book for maybe the tenth or hundredth time on the airplane this morning.

And I could write down some quirky anecdote about how I came across this book (because trust me, going on Barnes&Noble.com and ordering whatever looks mildly interesting always makes for a quirky anecdote :) or I could say how I first walked by Feeling Sorry for Celia about six times before I picked it up and then spent the whole afternoon torn between laughter and empathy, and then started wri...more

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Feb 11, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, 2008

(Australian Title: Finding Cassie Crazy)
For their grade 10 English class at posh Ashbury High, their teacher Mr. Botherit (!) has best friends Emily, Lydia and Cassy writing penpal letters to the English students at the rival public (therefore dodgy) school nearby, Brookfield. This is, in part, to help forge a bond between the hostile schools. Emily and Lydia, after a rocky start, form friendships of sorts with Charlie and Sebastian, while Cassie gets single line threats from the boy, Matthew, t...more (Australian Title: Finding Cassie Crazy)
For their grade 10 English class at posh Ashbury High, their teacher Mr. Botherit (!) has best friends Emily, Lydia and Cassy writing penpal letters to the English students at the rival public (therefore dodgy) school nearby, Brookfield. This is, in part, to help forge a bond between the hostile schools. Emily and Lydia, after a rocky start, form friendships of sorts with Charlie and Sebastian, while Cassie gets single line threats from the boy, Matthew, to whom she writes pages.

Lydia and Seb give each other secret assignments, something Lydia's been doing with her two best friends for years, and Emily tries to help Charlie with his technique at asking girls out. Cassie finally breaks Matthew's silence and finds someone she can really talk to, only to be betrayed by him in the worst way possible. Lydia and Emily are out for revenge, and Charlie and Seb are happy to help.

The Year of Secret Assignments is absolutely hilarious - I laughed out loud for 340 pages while reading this this afternoon (it's a quick read because it's so bloody enjoyable) - yet it has depth and poignancy. It's about friendship, loss, loyalty and being a teenager, but it never moralises. Some of the humour is subtle and ironic and may be lost on a younger audience, but perhaps not.

It's written entirely in the form of letters, diary entries, school notice-board posters, a few emails, the hilarious lists and statutory declarations and subpeonas Emily's dad presents her with when any other parent would simply yell out "Tea's ready!", and the absolutely ridiculous and patronising Notebook (TM) Lydia's dad gave her for her birthday. It reminded me a bit of John Marsden, as he had a couple of books written in the form of letters, but as I remember it they were much more serious. This is serious too - seriously funny. It's also extremely well written and paced, with so much revealed and counter-revealed from other perspectives, and in more subtle ways as well, so that you get the full story or can read between the lines, and through which the personalities of the main characters are revealed.

I also liked that, as this is the US edition of an Australian book, they pretty much only changed the spelling of words like "favourite", and switched to Fahrenheit - which doesn't fit at all, since no one in Australia uses anything but Celcius, and I have no idea how hot 104 degrees F is, but I'm sure American readers will, so that one's ok. They left alone a lot of other words, like mobile phone, and even the spelling of "arse" - and that reminds me, I love the maturity of this book. The characters seem shallow at first, but they're not. Oh, and I love Emily's vocab problems! She's hilarious without even meaning to be. Wow, though, I could never have been friends with someone like her. I'm too pedantic, I'd be forever correcting her until she shot me.(less)

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Sep 04, 2007 Chelsea rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: epistolary, contemporaryfiction, doubleplusgood, own, youngadult, advance, reread, covers, 2006

Not only does she bring some of the best epistolary writing I've ever read and feature some of the best character voices in ya lit, here Moriarty offers up one of those wonderfully impossible friendships. Lydia, Cassie, and Emily are so in tune with each other it hurts, and I want to hang out with them. In terms of trios I'd like to join, they fall very close to the reigning champ of Harry/Hermione/Ron.

They're wacky; they pull pranks; they swear; they keep secrets from each other; they mock thei...more

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Apr 22, 2009 Francie rated it 5 of 5 stars

What would you do if your school started up a pen-pal program with your rival school? I know I wouldn’t be very happy. That is exactly how Cassie, Lydia, and Emily feel when they are required to write letters to kids from Brookfield, their school, Ashbury’s, rival in the book The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty.

When they first write to Matthew, Seb, and Charlie, things get very out of hand. Charlie and Emily start off rocky, but eventually, everyone teams up. Lydia makes up “secret...more

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Feb 12, 2008 Madeline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Wonderful book!
Recommended by Allie the great. Approved by DawnMarie the wife of Chester. All wonderful things. Letting you know I ate Chester. And don't get to know Mattew Dunlop. He's a traitor!! You'll see when ya'll read the book.

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Dec 09, 2008 Annabella rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 17, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS by Jaclyn Moriarty has an interesting format. It is written entirely without dialogue. "What?" you say. It's true. The entire novel uses letters, diaries, journals, emails, and transcripts to tell the story. It's quite intriguing.

Three best friends, Cass, Emily, and Lydia, embark on an adventure that begins as a pen pal assignment in their English class. They each end up with male pen pals from their rival, Brookfiel...more

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Mar 30, 2009 deliabookworm rated it 5 of 5 stars

I adore this book. I've read it soooo many times. First I checked it out from the library at least four times. Since then, I've bought it and still read it constantly. It's one of my favorite chicklit-but-not-really-chicklit books. It's an intriguing plot line, well-written, and definitely funny. It's the perfect borderline between cheesy/mystery/light romance. I really love The Year of Secret Assignments.

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Aug 07, 2007 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult, epistolary, own-currently, favorites, fiction

Okay, I received this via bookmooch yesterday and read half of it as fast as possible. I can't remember the last time I was so looking forward to my next opportunity to read a book. My sister was so jealous of me reading it that she ran home and read her ENTIRE copy, so now I am jealous (but also lucky, because I have half the book left). Hunting the 3rd book now (The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie; Feeling Sorry for Celia being the first, and also excellent, though it seems impossible it could have...more

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Jan 27, 2008 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my favorite out of all the books Jaclyn Moriarty has written. First off, her style is very distinct, and actually a little difficult to get used to. This book is written completely in letters, emails and memos. Surprisingly however, it IS possible to fully understand the plot without any 3rd person writing.

The Year of Secret Assignments is about three teenage girls who are required to participate in the yearly penpal event with the rival school. They soon get whirled into a controversy f...more

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Oct 12, 2007 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teen with a little romance

Shelves: teen, realistic_fiction

Three girls become penpals with three boys from a rival school. Book is written in a diary/letter/journal style. A tenth grade English teacher attempts to unite feuding schools by launching a pen-pal project. Best friends Cassie, Emily and Lydia initiate the correspondence, and are answered by Matthew, Charlie and Seb. Emily and Lydia are more than pleased with their matches, but quiet Cassie has a frightening experience with Matthew. When Lydia and Emily discover that Matthew has threatened the...more

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Apr 30, 2008 Katrina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2008

What's not to love about The Year of Secret Assignments?! Jacyln Moriarty's writing style occasionally put me in the mind of Lemony Snicket minus the dark undertones. I enjoy stories presented in format that strays from the traditional chapter flow, and Moriarty does a good job of revealing the various characters' personalities through their letters and e-mails to one another. I know that a book has me under its spell when I am willing to sacrifice sleep on a school night to read "just a few mor...more

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Mar 27, 2009 Alexandra rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: ANYONE who wants to laugh, but also think a bit

Recommended to Alexandra by: myself :p

Shelves: favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 15, 2013 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

At first glance, I was easily drawn to this novel. Equipped with a unique story plot, unlike most books; it caught my attention and curiosity. With few naration paragraphs, letters from three girls to three boys dominated this novel. As a class assignment issued from the teachers, Cassie, Lydia, and Emily exchange letters to Matthew, Sebastian, and Charlie during the pen pal program. Since the girls and boys are from rival schools, the six immediately send hate words to one another creating a me...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Natali rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended-for-girls, summer-reading-list-2012

First things first: This book is a) a follow-up book, which I was unaware of at the time I bought it, and b) takes place in Australia which I was also unaware of when I started reading it which caused much confusion in slang, setting, etc. But I enjoyed it nevertheless. I have to give props to the author for the writing style because she wrote in the perspective of, like, 6 or 7 different characters at the same time. And what was even cooler was that you could see the distinct personalities and...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Mackenzie rated it 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS ARE IN THIS REVIEW*****

When Ashbury girls Cassie, Emily, and Lydia end up writing letters to rival school Brookfield's boys Matthew, Charlie, and Sebastian, they end up in more trouble then they bargained for.
Cassie gets a broken heart, a chance at revenge, and a crazy therapist. Emily teaches Charlie how to get the girl of his dreams by lessons on How To Date A Girl, Meeting A Girl By Chance, and Gazing Into A Girls Eyes. Lydia and Seb trade secret assignments, such as selling polar be...more

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May 16, 2012 Skye rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read The Year of Secret Assignments (otherwise known as Finding Cassie Crazy in the UK) by Jaclyn Moriarty. There are things that I really liked about this book but also some things that I didn’t like about it, but overall it was a great book. One thing that I really liked about the book was the characters. One thing that I kind of liked but at some parts was mad at is the plot. One last thing that I really like was how Jaclyn Moriarty wrote the book.
I liked the characters in the book for a...more I read The Year of Secret Assignments (otherwise known as Finding Cassie Crazy in the UK) by Jaclyn Moriarty. There are things that I really liked about this book but also some things that I didn’t like about it, but overall it was a great book. One thing that I really liked about the book was the characters. One thing that I kind of liked but at some parts was mad at is the plot. One last thing that I really like was how Jaclyn Moriarty wrote the book.
I liked the characters in the book for a lot of reasons. First of all, there were a lot of character, and while that sometimes got a little hard to understand it made the book much better. I also liked how the main characters grew and changed during the whole book. Some of the characters completely changed the way that they think and act, but that is a good thing. Besides not having much detail in the book to describe their physical appearance, the characters were very well developed on how that acted and felt about certain things. They are definitely well rounded on how they act and how their opinions are. I like how when the separate characters are thinking, you can tell how their thought process is and you can see them working through their problems. How the author wrote about, and described the characters is not the only thing that I liked about the book.
I really liked how the author wrote the book. Her style was something that I hadn’t ever really seen in a book before. It was really like someone who was writing in a diary. It the book it was two schools who are enemies writing letters to each other. After a while they start to meet using the excuse of needing to accomplish these secret assignments that they all create. Sometimes, the characters explain some things way too much for too long but that is on purpose to make the other characters hate the main characters. The book was very funny, sad at sometimes, and at other times made me very mad, which is one of the main reasons I loved this book. The dialogue was very realistic, when the characters talked and the way they acted was very relatable to how I and my friends talk. There are also some things I liked and disliked about the plot.
The plot had some high points and also some low points for me. One high point is it kept you going it was always busy and there were no boring parts. Also it was hilarious and always kept me laughing. One low part of the plot for me though, was a part that made me very mad. I don’t want to give it away, but it angered me greatly! I’m sure that that is what the author was looking to do though. Overall, this book was a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone from kids in the junior high, to adults who enjoy reading romance/action novels.
(less)

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Mar 11, 2012 Minli rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult

(3.5 stars) Despite the fact that I can't understand the reason for this novel (why would three girls be writing to three boys at a different school and why would Ashbury and Brookfield set up this penpal program? I don't buy the 'eliminating school rivalry' excuse...What's the educational benefit?), I loved the friendship among Lydia, Cassie and Emily. Despite being all being the daughters of lawyers, they're all so wonderfully distinct, and I enjoyed reading how their three different correspon...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australia, penpals, chick-lit, books-for-girls, letters, realistic, young-adult-fiction, funny, borrowed-from-the-library, high-school, friendship, families, relationships, diaries-journals, mixed-media, parents, lawyers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Lydia, Cassie, and Emily are best friends in a private school in Australia. They’re all in the same English class, and this year one of their assignments is to exchange letters with students from Brookfield school. The girls are not all that excited about the assignment because everyone knows that the students who go to the other school are all juvenile delinquents. Things turn out differently than they expect, however, and all three of them become quite attached to their “penfriends.” Through t...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Kirsti rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First of all, it was extremely difficult to find this book here on Goodreads, because of the name change! Now I finally have found it, here's my review.

I loved this story! Normally something as kooky as writing letters and emails to describe a story would have annoyed me, but I found myself eagerly flipping the pages, as intent on the story as with any other. The letters between the characters were really effective in showing their characters, from their silly moments to the deep dark secrets th...more First of all, it was extremely difficult to find this book here on Goodreads, because of the name change! Now I finally have found it, here's my review.

I loved this story! Normally something as kooky as writing letters and emails to describe a story would have annoyed me, but I found myself eagerly flipping the pages, as intent on the story as with any other. The letters between the characters were really effective in showing their characters, from their silly moments to the deep dark secrets they shared.

I can't imagine what would have happened if we had written to any of the schools we were rivals with. Yes, my school had more than one rivalry. We were major rivals with the other public school on the other side of the town, and minor rivals with every other private school, but couldn't compare ourselves fully because they had crazy things like their own junior army and an indoor swimming pool. We also, once a year, had a fierce rivalry when one of three big towns in our area hosted a sporting competition in which all three towns were involved. This made each school hate the other, understandably, especially if your school lost a lot, or lost the last event of the day (rugby union). I don't think I would have been friendly with anyone then!

But these girls discover so much more with their new penpals. Lydia and Emily get on great with their pen pals, but Cassie, poor Cassie, ends up with a dud who insults and threatens her. Reading the nuances throughout are really good at this point, and I can't not give away the story line if I describe even a small part, but suffice to say it is well written and so interwoven that argh! I don't have words. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, and I can't even picture being at one of these schools, the girls are so daring (I could never bring myself to skip even one class, we had a roll call at the start of each lesson anyway)

Anyway, all I can say is this story is great, and made me think of my own school years. This is the sort of book I would have liked reading as a teenager, it doesn't have that staid feel of a book your teacher would force you to read (maybe because of the references to drugs, cancer and sex would probably get the teacher in trouble) It is fresh, funny and exciting, and the characters are great! The idea of boys, and boys, writing letters, is the only oddity there; most males I know have no idea a pen can be used for anything other than throwing at people to get their attention or something.

Recommend, recommend, recommend! Now why aren't you reading this awesome book right at this minute?(less)

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Oct 27, 2011 Natshane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: attractive-covers, freaking-awesome-made-me-swoon, first-impression-check, couldn-t-stop-screaming

Agent in-charged : Natasha Anne

A.K.A : Natshane

Special Covert Operation Assignment: Review

Operation Description: Write a review for this book that made you laughed like crazy in the middle of the night.

Warning: May contain inappropriate words for young children.

Synopsis: Three Girls, Three Boys, Two Rival schools. This could get Messy.
The Ashbury-Brookfield pen pal program is desinged to bring together two rival schools in a spirit of harmony and the 'Joy of envelope'. But when Cassie, Lydi...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Creativity's Corner added it

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary

This review was originally posted on my blog, Creativity's Corner

I found this book fun to read, though I didn't see what all the fuss is about. It doesn't make me want to run up to random people on the street and say "You have to read this" or anything (yes that is my qualification for "Best Book EVER!" status). On the other hand, I've written in epistolary format, albeit in a very one-sided capacity, and I know how difficult it is. As fun as the readers find it, it's so hard to figure out how...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Year of Secret Assignments is the second book in the Asbury/Brookefield series. I only got to know that after reading this book. Facepalm? Well, you really can't blame me. The Year of Secret Assignments is a standalone, despite being a part of a series. So in case you made the same mistake of picking this book up without having read the first book, Feeling Sorry for Cecelia, you need not to worry.

The Year of Secret Assignments has the most creative format of a novel I have ever read. The sto...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Emma rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been reading so many serious books lately that The Year of Secret Assignments was the perfect book to blow off a little steam and just read a good, fun book. It really was wonderful. And it seems as though I've been reading a lot of Aussie authors lately, and I really like it! They are truly amazing and wonderful.

The Year of Secret Assignments is told through pen pal letters, diary entries, emails, and a strange writing book. The girls - Cassie, Lydia and Em - are writing letters to their...more I've been reading so many serious books lately that The Year of Secret Assignments was the perfect book to blow off a little steam and just read a good, fun book. It really was wonderful. And it seems as though I've been reading a lot of Aussie authors lately, and I really like it! They are truly amazing and wonderful.

The Year of Secret Assignments is told through pen pal letters, diary entries, emails, and a strange writing book. The girls - Cassie, Lydia and Em - are writing letters to their male counterparts at a public school across the road, home to Charlie, Sebastian and Matthew. The interactions between this group are truly funny. It is amazing to me that the author can write in so many different voices and still make each of them sound unique.

The story is also told quite well - there are so many moving parts with six characters but it still comes together in the best way. There were quite a few parts that made me laugh to myself pretty hard. I enjoyed the playful nature of Lyd and Seb's exchanges, and the way that they got to know each other before spending any time together. It was one of the best done, realistic relationships I've seen in a while.

Cassie's story was very realistic as well. It hit on all of the important aspects of dealing with grief and the death of a loved one. She thinks she is going crazy, but truthfully, she is just dealing with loss and grief - things that don't necessarily come easily to her. It doesn't help that her Brookfield pen-pal is kind of an ass. Actually, a really huge jackass. With Cassie, you just want to give her a big hug, because the hits just keep on coming.

The only real problem I had with this book is the timing. Sometimes you would see a whole series of letters just from the girls, and have to wait to see all of the responses from the boys. I found that kind of confusing. Another tiny problem was the fact that the writing seemed aimed for young highschoolers, while some of the language was definitely a bit older. I didn't mind at all - I'm 24 for Pete's sake - but if you're recommending this to a middle-grader, I would maybe hold off.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It's a fast, easy read that kept me laughing and wanting to read more.(less)

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Dec 22, 2010 Alissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Letters, diary entries, intermingling narration - they make for a unique, albeit strange, novel structure. But the book, like its characters, is quirky. The plot is nothing special, but I wouldn’t say it’s entirely predictable. Moriarty does throw in a few twists to keep readers in check.

The characters are real and unreal, likable and not likable; it’s a bit of a toss-up. They all have distinct personalities that are conveyed well through whichever device (letter, diary, etc.) is used, but somet...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Bree T rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-reads, young-adult

Finding Cassie Crazy is about 3 best friends, Cassie, Emily and Lydia who attend a made-up, private, very well-to-do school in Sydney’s north west somewhere near Castle Hill. As part of year 10 English, they undertake something named the ‘Joy of the Envelope Pen-Pal Project’, which is all about no one taking the time to communicate properly anymore and everything taking two seconds via text or messenger or email. Cassie, Em and Lydia have to write letters to three boys from the famed Brookfield...more Finding Cassie Crazy is about 3 best friends, Cassie, Emily and Lydia who attend a made-up, private, very well-to-do school in Sydney’s north west somewhere near Castle Hill. As part of year 10 English, they undertake something named the ‘Joy of the Envelope Pen-Pal Project’, which is all about no one taking the time to communicate properly anymore and everything taking two seconds via text or messenger or email. Cassie, Em and Lydia have to write letters to three boys from the famed Brookfield High (public school) where the kids are all tattooed criminals recently out of jail (apparently).

Emily gets Charlie, who has brothers with ties to local Mafia and motorcycle groups (and one of them is a cop). Lydia gets Sebastian who struggles with anger management and thinks of creative ways to gain himself more study time for his year 10 exams. Cassie gets Matthew Dunlop who initially threatens her with bodily harm and maybe even death if she will not stop writing to him (she continues) and then apparently un-thaws and begins writing back. The three of them get quite caught up in their Pen-Pals. They all get to know each other in different ways: Emily helps Charlie gain confidence to talk to the girl of his dreams, Lydia and Seb give each other ‘Secret Agent Assignments’ and Cassie pours her heart out to a stranger about her feelings regarding her fathers death on the recommendation of her therapist. As the couples all decide that they actually might kind of like each other, and it might be nice to meet up and chat in person, rather than just in a letter, one of them will tutor their Pen-Pal on a date, one of them will look the other in the eye, give them a rose and then walk away and another will betray their Pen-Pal in a cruel and vicious way, revealing everything about themselves to be fake. Then the book changes gear as the rest rally around the betrayed party and attempt to extract some revenge.

This book was so enjoyable! I wasn’t sure in the first few pages, which involved Lydia writing in this book her father had bought her about how to become a writer but as it moved to Emily’s lawyer father leaving her a letter containing multiple choice answers for what her parents were doing right now and expected her to do while they were away, and to the letters between the girls and their pen-pals at Brookfield High, I started loving it. Sometimes the book will include letters from all 3 of the couples in a row, but quite often it will be a section between Emily and Charlie, followed by a section between Lydia and Seb and then a section between Cassie and Matthew. This means that you do rehash things in a way, but from completely different points of view, including some people who were involved in events up close, and some that were just bystanders watching and some that just heard about it at a later date. I never got confused though and enjoyed the partnerships between the 6 teenagers, even the one that went horribly wrong! I didn’t really see that sort of thing coming and I was gobsmacked when I read what had happened. I really felt for the character that was betrayed and admired the resolve of the others to make the perpetrator pay.

The characters were funny and charming – Em who wanted to be a lawyer like her parents but was frightened she wasn’t going to get the grades, shines during a chance to prove her talents in a ‘mock trial’ that takes place at the end of the book. Lydia, the daughter of a Supreme Court Judge and faded TV star, is desperate to be a writer and can’t bear the thought that she may never be published. Her father gives her a ‘tutorial’ type book for aspiring writers with vague and mostly ridiculous questions and statements to answer or elaborate on and Lydia treats this book with the contempt it mostly deserves in her answers. Cassie lost her father to cancer last year and is still very fragile because of it, attending counselling sessions but closing herself off. When her therapist tells her to pick a stranger and tell them about herself, she chooses her Pen-Pal even though he has made it clear he doesn’t want to write to her. The boys from Brookfield have funny too, Charlie talking about his brothers and Seb trying to get out of sitting exams (but not really for the reasons that you think) and the un-thawing of Matthew is really very well written. And then the betrayal is exquisitely done.

As the Pen-Pal project seeks to fix the rivalry between the two schools, it will make it so much worse before it can get better. I think the format of entirely letters, memo’s, emails, post-it notes, notice board flyers etc would really appeal to students, plus they can relate to a lot of the high school drama going on. Definitely a good choice!(less)

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About Jaclyn Moriarty

Jaclyn Moriarty is an Australian writer of young adult literature.

She studied English at the University of Sydney, and law at Yale University and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a PhD.

She is the younger sister of Liane Moriarty. She was previously married to Canadian writer Colin McAdam, and has a son, Charlie. She currently lives in Sydney.

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Books by Jaclyn Moriarty

Feeling Sorry for Celia (Ashbury/Brookfield, #1)

The Murder Of Bindy Mackenzie (Ashbury/Brookfield, #3)

The Ghosts of Ashbury High (Ashbury/Brookfield, #4)

A Corner of White (The Colours of Madeleine #1)

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“I'm screwed up, mixed up, messed around, dive-bombing, crashing and burning.” — 37 people liked it

“I saw your name in lights last night.
It's the middle of the night,
and I can't sleep,
thinking all my trumpeting thoughts,
and I get out of bed,
open the curtains,
and look into the night full of stars,
and you know what I saw?
Your name.
Like the stars joined up and spelled the word for me.
Like a sign.” — 27 people liked it

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The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield #2)

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