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Not Just the Blues
One day, I, CORDELIA CODD, will be glamorous. I'll take taxis everywhere, have a ridiculous-looking, floppy little dog, and Wednesdays will be manicure day.
But for now, I'm stuck with a 50% reduction in parents
two mean ex-best friends
rubbish day Wednesdays
and a mum with a broken heart.
Dad has GOT to come home and help me out...
But for now, I'm stuck with a 50% reduction in parents
two mean ex-best friends
rubbish day Wednesdays
and a mum with a broken heart.
Dad has GOT to come home and help me out...
- GenresChildrens
297 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2012
About the author
Claire O'Brien
44 books6 followersHi everyone!
I grew up in the middle of England, playing in abandoned allotment gardens and riding my bicycle for miles and miles. My school and my local town had good libraries so I could always get hold of a new book to sink into.
I became a primary school teacher and taught in London, Yorkshire, the USA and Colombia, finally settling back in London about seven years ago.
I love visiting galleries and riding my bicycle around hidden corners of the city to see the interesting architecture.
My son, Ewan, is a student in Brighton and spends a lot of time living in a tent at festivals.
I grew up in the middle of England, playing in abandoned allotment gardens and riding my bicycle for miles and miles. My school and my local town had good libraries so I could always get hold of a new book to sink into.
I became a primary school teacher and taught in London, Yorkshire, the USA and Colombia, finally settling back in London about seven years ago.
I love visiting galleries and riding my bicycle around hidden corners of the city to see the interesting architecture.
My son, Ewan, is a student in Brighton and spends a lot of time living in a tent at festivals.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 28, 2019
I read this book to my daughters, aged 11 and 12. They both enjoyed it and, more importantly, so did I 😁
February 12, 2024
One of my favorite childehood books. Still enjoying it though.
May 2, 2026
The book that got me back into reading after so long ♥️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2014
First I would like to thanks the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book through the Good Reads First Reads giveaway.
Cordelia Codd is an interesting character. The book is funny and I can see young readers identifying with her character.
I personally found the story of Cordelia Codd to be rather frustrating and upsetting at times. Definitely not what the author was going for but I spent the entire book wondering how no one noticed the severity of Cordelia's situation and tried to help. This did put me off the story somewhat as I was constantly thinking how she should not be in this situation. However I understand that I likely come to this mindset as a former teacher so I have tried to put those thoughts aside for this review.
It is a quirky story and one that is easy to read and follow. There is an overuse of font changes which I found irritating but I know that I am not the target market and I can see how this would be appealing to younger readers as it helps to give the character voice. Cordelia's voice was something that I liked most about this story as it came through loud and clear. I could hear her voice in my head as I was reading and it made it easy to get sucked into the story.
The story itself is a little simplistic at times. The characters express limited emotions and appear to have two set modes that they bat back and forth between. Still, I can see this book being enjoyable for tweens around Cordelia's age, children who are just starting to grow into teenagers with all the emotional turmoil that this brings. Some might be dealing with their parent's splitting up, friends being lost, and them trying to find their place in a changing social structure as they move into high school. Hopefully this won't be as dramatic as it is with Cordelia but then again, if she had a story too similar to the majority of children it wouldn't be as fun to read.
I enjoyed the story. Not as much as I would have if I was between 9 and 11 but the story is a fun and easy read. I can really see this appealing to children who are perhaps reluctant readers. It's vibrant, it's over the top and it's full of loud voices.
Overall, although I feel that the story went a little too far with the neglected storyline, I do think it is a good book for children to read alone. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Cordelia Codd is an interesting character. The book is funny and I can see young readers identifying with her character.
I personally found the story of Cordelia Codd to be rather frustrating and upsetting at times. Definitely not what the author was going for but I spent the entire book wondering how no one noticed the severity of Cordelia's situation and tried to help. This did put me off the story somewhat as I was constantly thinking how she should not be in this situation. However I understand that I likely come to this mindset as a former teacher so I have tried to put those thoughts aside for this review.
It is a quirky story and one that is easy to read and follow. There is an overuse of font changes which I found irritating but I know that I am not the target market and I can see how this would be appealing to younger readers as it helps to give the character voice. Cordelia's voice was something that I liked most about this story as it came through loud and clear. I could hear her voice in my head as I was reading and it made it easy to get sucked into the story.
The story itself is a little simplistic at times. The characters express limited emotions and appear to have two set modes that they bat back and forth between. Still, I can see this book being enjoyable for tweens around Cordelia's age, children who are just starting to grow into teenagers with all the emotional turmoil that this brings. Some might be dealing with their parent's splitting up, friends being lost, and them trying to find their place in a changing social structure as they move into high school. Hopefully this won't be as dramatic as it is with Cordelia but then again, if she had a story too similar to the majority of children it wouldn't be as fun to read.
I enjoyed the story. Not as much as I would have if I was between 9 and 11 but the story is a fun and easy read. I can really see this appealing to children who are perhaps reluctant readers. It's vibrant, it's over the top and it's full of loud voices.
Overall, although I feel that the story went a little too far with the neglected storyline, I do think it is a good book for children to read alone. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
May 30, 2013
Izzy(9) for www.bigbooklittlebook.com
I read this book with my Mummy and I’m glad I did. I didn’t quite get all of it, because I am in year 4 and Cordelia is in year 7 but I still enjoyed it. Half way through reading it at bed time, my big sister (Daisy) who is in year 7 started to listen in and she was hooked! She enjoyed hearing it so much that she borrowed the book and read all the chapters we had already read so she could then join in and listen to the rest of it.
Cordelia is a film loving, costume designer 12 year old who has a happy life until a bad thing happened which affected her and her mum very badly. As a result of that, she did some bad but quite funny things. I’m not going to tell you any more stuff, although it does involve a boxing glove and some paint! You’ve got to read it yourself. I think this book is aimed at kids over 9 definitely as there is one or two bad uses of language but over all I loved it!
It kept all of us listening, sometimes it made me feel sad but sometimes it made me feel grateful for what we have in our family. I really wanted to be Cordelia’s friend.
Does it have a happy ending? Read the book and find out!
Verdict : I can’t wait to read the next one, ‘Cordelia Codd, Frankly Ruby I don’t give a Damm’ (secretly my Mum can’t wait to read it either).
I read this book with my Mummy and I’m glad I did. I didn’t quite get all of it, because I am in year 4 and Cordelia is in year 7 but I still enjoyed it. Half way through reading it at bed time, my big sister (Daisy) who is in year 7 started to listen in and she was hooked! She enjoyed hearing it so much that she borrowed the book and read all the chapters we had already read so she could then join in and listen to the rest of it.
Cordelia is a film loving, costume designer 12 year old who has a happy life until a bad thing happened which affected her and her mum very badly. As a result of that, she did some bad but quite funny things. I’m not going to tell you any more stuff, although it does involve a boxing glove and some paint! You’ve got to read it yourself. I think this book is aimed at kids over 9 definitely as there is one or two bad uses of language but over all I loved it!
It kept all of us listening, sometimes it made me feel sad but sometimes it made me feel grateful for what we have in our family. I really wanted to be Cordelia’s friend.
Does it have a happy ending? Read the book and find out!
Verdict : I can’t wait to read the next one, ‘Cordelia Codd, Frankly Ruby I don’t give a Damm’ (secretly my Mum can’t wait to read it either).
April 28, 2013
Not too shabby! I'd reccomend this :)
July 8, 2015
Surprisingly deep at times.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews