Mates, Dates, and Diamond Destiny

Mates, Dates #11

by Paul Draine Cathy Hopkins

“That William Lewis really thinks a lot of himself,” I said. ”He’s such a smartarse.”

“Hhmm,” said Lucy, grinning. “That’s what he said about you too.”

“He did? What a cheek! God, he annoys me. I really hate him.”

Lucy, TJ, and Izzie exchanged knowing looks. “Yeah sure,” said TJ. “You hate him.”

Nesta’s life is thrown into upheaval when she gets involved in charity work thinking that it might be a cool way to meet people (mainly boys). But as her eyes are opened to the plight of the world, she begins to want genuinely to get involved and help others.

On top of this, Nesta meets William, a boy who questions her motives. At times, she’s convinced he hates her and the feeling is mutual. But Izzie, Lucy, and TJ think it is something more like love…

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Contemporary, Teen, Childrens

249 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Geli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is about Nesta and her need to help others. But if she doing it for the right reasons or to impress a boy??

I loved this book. The ones about Nesta are usually my favorite because she is the one i can identify with most. There are great moral values to be learned in this book. And it has even inspired me to do a few new things.

[Azet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading "Mates and Dates" during middle-school and loving to follow the lives of these girls who are bestfriends."Diamond Destiny" was my favourite part in this story,since i loved Nesta`s and William`s relationship!

[Kaylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't wait to read the other books Cathy Hopkins has written she's an amazing author

This book was focused on appreciating what you have while you have it. And giving back when you can.

[Vee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Committing charity fraud is kind of wild...

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I'd rank the narrators as such:
Fun Personalities
Nesta - The only one who faces some actual adversity, like in the first one where her boy's friend is being microaggressively racist towards her. But she also is the main source of humor and generally has the most confidence in life, which is always nice to see especially compared to her overly self-deprecating friends.
Izzie - Can get a bit Very Special Episode, i.e. don't drink/drug cuz a boy wants you to lower your inhibitions, don't starve yourself. But she has a good sense of herself when it comes to her friends and her future.

No Personalities
Lucy - Her on again/off again thing with Tony is tedious and changes at a whim depending on what lesson the author feels like imparting from book to book.
TJ - Two of her three books revolve around her being hung up over her friend's boyfriend who's juggling a third girl as well, and then later throwing a fit because the other of the two guys she's juggling is dating someone else just like she is. Honestly, I don't know if the series needs her at all.

[Katlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything just seems so easy for the girls. They're beautiful and have had multiple boyfriends each in the course of one year. I mean, what kind of teenager can pass for a model without any questioning? I still feel like each of these books is trying to teach me something. I am not sure if I am in the mood for something with a message. 3/5

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Mates, Dates, and Diamond Destiny' was a very light read.
This is an innocent teen romance that carries a message and (I assume) is supposed to teach you something.

As you could gather from the synopsis, the main heroine decides that she's never done anything good in this life and that she needs to change that. So, she gets involved in charity work and soon becomes very passionate about it, moving on from her intentional reason of joining it for the sake of wooing William.
Many relevant issues, such as world hunger, our planet's overall state etc. are discussed in this book.
Throughout the story, the protagonist comes to a realisation that she's privileged, because she has food to it, new clothes, available education, whereas in the world there are many people, who are suffering (starving/ slowly dying from cancer at an early age etc.). By trial and error Nesta figures out what she can do to help those in need, whilst being a fifteen-year-old and comes to a conclusion that she should enjoy every single second of her life.
Also, Nesta, as many girls of her age, struggles with low self-esteem, frequently deals with misunderstandings with her friends and with her fears (e. of being hurt). We see her learn how to deal with all of this: to value herself and not go overboard with self-hate, to voice her opinions and explain what she actually meant and so on.

Now, as for the cons:

- The wording was a bit confusing at times.
Like in this bit:
She says she got them (green eyes) from her Irish ancestors. I say in that case, she ought to give them back to them as they might be missing them.

- There is pretty much no relationship development. The book focuses more on the charity and girls trying to raise money rather than the romantic plotline.

-PMS jokes.
I have no idea why the authoress finds periods so funny.
In the beginning of the book there was so many period jokes: the first one literally made me want to throw this book under my bed and never pick it up again:
‘ what’s the difference between a girl with PMS and a rottweiler? Lip-gloss’
CRINGE

-There isn't much tension in Nesta's and William's relationship. It all goes pretty smooth until the very last chapters and resolves quickly and predicatbly.

Sp, that's 3,5 stars for me.
This was a very average read, but I gave it additional 0,5 stars for the message it carried (bodypositivity/rasing awareness on relevant issues).

[Maya Poedji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa ternyata jadi orang se-sempurna Nesta Williams tuh ruwet juga ya 😅
Yeah... Nama-nya juga remaja... Di semua bagian dan belahan dunia emang sama hehehe cuma yg menarik adalah bagian bagaimana orang2 tua disekitaran mereka yg menaruh kepercayaan pada remaja seumuran 15-18thn. No wonder diluar tuh anak2 cepet dewasa. Aq ngga yakin ortu2 di Indonesia bisa begitu. Secara pribadi lho ya... Klo mewakili sekolahan khan pasti ada surat menyurat-nya...
Well... Another good series... Well-done!

[Lauren Zell-Huxley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these books when I was younger. I’ve definitely matured, and not sure I’d enjoy them too much now. But great for younger readers, say about 11-14? Silly and fun but you get to love the main characters

[Steff S (The Bookish Owl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: It didn't actually take this long to read it, I just didn't read any for ages.

[vicu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ☆

>> Sean felices. Hagan lo que puedan, mientras puedan. Disfruten la vida. En todos sus aspectos. <<

[Alberte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Brunaa.alonso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es muuuyyyy muuuuuy clishoso.
Las chicas tienen 15 pero parecen de 12.
Igualmente es muuuuuy enganchantee ajjsjd
Ame

[Perdani Budiarti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sekelompok gadis remaja melakukan kegiatan amal secara sukarela? Rasanya hal itu tidak biasa, terlebih di saat yang lainnya asyik dengan kehidupan ala remaja lainnya yang penuh suka cita. Namun semuanya harus dihadapi Nesta dan kawan-kawannya karena obsesi mendadak Nesta untuk mengubah dunia menjadi lebih baik. Penyangkalan Nesta tentang perasaannya yang sesungguhnya kepada William juga menjadi salah satu bumbu khas romance remaja yang untungnya tidak terlalu mendominasi jalan cerita.

Gaya penceritaan khas remaja yang cenderung lebay pada beberapa bagian tidak mengurangi pesan utama buku ini. Bahwa kegiatan amal yang terlihat membosankan itu bisa menjadi lebih keren kalau idenya dikemas dengan bagus dan kreatif. Selain itu siapa tahu dalam kegiatan amal tersebut kita akan bertemu cowok keren seperti William :P

Ya, walalu pun ide kegiatan amal itu tidak jauh-jauh dari pesta dansa ala prom night, namun di balik itu semua ada hikmah yang dapat diambil. Bahwa kegiatan amal untuk mendapatkan dana besar itu tidak semudah yang dikira Nesta dan kawan-kawannya. Bahwa butuh perjuangan sangat besar untuk menghadirkan bintang utama pesta dansa amal tersebut. Bahwa butuh pengorbanan sangat besar untuk menyukseskan kegiatan amal yang terlihat sepele itu.

Tujuan kegiatan amal untuk membangun gedung bagi remaja yang terkena kanker dalam usaha menyemangati mereka di sisa hidupnya patut diacungi jempol.

[Amanda Yeargin]

I read Mates, Dates, and Diamond Destiny as an IR book. This book was about Nesta thinking she is selfish and she wants to prove to people she isn't. By doing that she wants to start charity. Her best friends are questioned at first but they join her. In the beginning Nesta wants to give almost all her clothes away but then she notices she is going overboard. Along the way she meets this boy William who is friends with her lying ex. While preparing for a charity dance she also helps William sister who is dying of cancer. Nesta wants to show everyone she isn't selfish and also has deep feelings for William.
A connection i have is an text-to-world connection. This connects to the world because many people donate money to charity. It's really nice when people donate their money to someone who is in need. Many people do it around the world and it really does help and because of that person the will save a child.
I gave this book *****stars. I gave it five stars because it made me realize even more not everybody has what you have. This series interest me a lot because it always gives me a surprise. I also like how it;s placed in another country and you there there sayings. I recommend this book to people who like this series.

[Mira Roderica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I read Mates Dates series is when I was a teenager. And now I read it again as an adult(?), I just realized... Oh gosh, they are just fourteen! :))

Just like the other series of Mates Dates, the story is rather light, typical of teenlit, full of dreamy stories. I'm fine with it though as I find I need light stories sometimes.

In this book, I really like the theme. About charity. Probably because I also attracted to charity thingy recently. I also feel the same thing every now and then. "Oh why would I buy this shoes? The same amount of money can cover a kid school's fee for 3 months!" or something like that. But yeah, just like the characters in the book, I found it difficult to always think like that. Not that I don't care, but sometimes, it's just hard to be that extreme. So I guess, I agree with someone in the book about enjoy your life but don't forget to give ;)

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collective Review

I first read a couple of these books in 2006. I had a long bus trip and grabbed a couple of the series from a local bookstore. I had no idea they were part of a huge series. Over the years I had forgotten the names of the books but every now and then would try to find them. I finally found them this year from a Goodreads list. Yay!

I really enjoyed this series. I think the main reason is because the books were released in 2001 and the girls are 14. I was 13 in 2001 so can connect with a lot of the pop culture aspects mentioned throughout the series. Even though the series is based in England I still feel a sense of nostalgia while reading it.

I really love the girls and their friendship. I never had a close knit group of friends like this when I was younger so I liked reading about it. They are a bit too boy crazy for my liking but I really did love this series.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was cute. It is about four friends, Nesta, Izzy, Lucy, and TJ. The main character, Nesta did not appreciate helping other people, or getting involved with charities, fund-rasisers, and organizations. However, she soon learns that helping people is a good thing. Later, Nesta gets all her friends to help raise money for a charity fund for the disabled. Throughout the book, she actually gets caught up in helping other, that she doesnt realize that inside, she really has to learn to accept herself. As a character, Nesta alternates to a less selfish person, and i thought that was the most important part. A boy named Scott had a sister that was disabled, and is diagnosed with cancer. Nesta felt bad for her, but then has a few personal relationship problems with scott. This would be a great book for teenagers, epecially!!

[Suki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this series again and this one is about Nesta. Nesta is a girl who always like to think about boys. She can not live without boys. All she cares are boys! As the story develops, she start to do something useful like getting involved and helping others. It made her start to not think about boys that much and better than that, she meets William and they fall in love. I think that sometimes when you don't want something to happen, it happens and vice versa. For example, when i need my compass or protractor for math, I can't find it and I know that it is somewhere in my house. When I dont want it, it appears to be somewhere and I hate that. It depends on luck for everything.

[Niken Anggrek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seperti biasa Nesta, TJ, Lucy, dan Izzie mempunyai gagasan-gagasan yang tidak biasa. Tiba-tiba saja mereka merasa manusia yang paling abai terhadap permasalahan-permasalahan sosial di bumi ini. Nesta kemudian berusaha membuat dirinya sebagai pahlawan yang peduli permasalahan lingkungan. Mulai dari memilah baju2 yang bau sampai berakting menjadi model demi mengundang supermodel dalam kegiatan amalnya. Kesimpulannya, narsis ga papa juga kok, asal berguna bagi banyak orang.

Gayanya Cathy Hopkins ya gitu2 aja, tapi ya teteup asyik untuk dinikmati sebagai bacaan ringan. Dan tentu saja, khas remaja, ada sedikit adegan cintanya.

[Ulqiya Alfi]

Hidup nesta si Ratu Belanja benar-benar jungkir balik ketika ia mulai terlibat dalam kegiatan amal. Awalnya Nesta melakukannya cuma karena ini cara keren untuk bertemu orang-orang baru (terutama para cowok). Tetapi ketika matanya mulai terbuka pada berbagai kesengsaraan di dunia, ia benar-benar tulus membantu sesama. Namun ternyata beramal dan membantu sesama nggak semudah yang ia pikirkan sebelumnya.
Masalah Nesta bukan cuma itu. Ia memang ketemu cowok, si keren William. Sayang sekali, bukannya suka Nesta malah membenci cowok itu. Tetapi kenapa Izzie, Lucy,dan Tj justru bepikir ada getar-getar naksir antara Nesta dan William, ya?

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, the girls are ripping on Nesta for being shallow, but Nesta's PMSing and takes it really seriously. Plus, there's a guy collecting at the coffee shop who was one of Luke's friends. Nesta gets involved with charity work to prove she's not shallow but she keeps running into William. She DOES NOT like him, so why are the girls giving her such a hard time? And even if she did like him, how would she be able to trust a friend of Luke's? A bit preachy on the charity-work angle, especailly when cancer-girl makes an appearence, but fun. Especially when they smack down the smug girls.

[Grabiela · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think that it was a good book it was about four best friends. one of them brings up the theme of helping others that are asking for money and cloth for people that need it . nesta is the main character and by using the helping others theme she meets a boy named william who his sister has cancer and she is likely to die and the they have to make enough money for her and other pacients to survive for at least a year or 2.it is a wonderful book to read.read how nesta,izzie,lucy and tj solve and make enough money to save williams sister from cancer.

[Lauren Bowling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a girl names Nesta. She convinces her friends(Izzy, TJ, and Lucy) to help her with a charity. First she does it to try to get Wiliam, but when she hears about his sister, Eleanor, she starts to realize that she is selfish. She then joins a group at her school that is raising money for a wing at Lotus Hospice.


I REALLY liked this book, and I dont really like reading.. It was pretty obvious that they were gonna end up getting together. But I would recommend this to everybody!

[Angie Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOL. I just laugh at the way Nesta tries to catch William's attention by getting in a charity club. In the charity club, she helps a lot of people & that's pretty good. But she faces too many problems and doesn't know what to do. She actually figured out she had her friends by her side to help her solve her tragic problems.

[Pamela Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fun and vaguely enjoyable read, though it was incredibly predictable. I felt the characters could have been developed more and the storylines could have ran deeper.

I got this as a swap on Read It Swap It, and probably would never had read it otherwise. As a fan of YA, I think this one would appeal to young teens, not for those who like their books bigger and more complex.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good! Nesta wants to do charity, because she was interested in this guy named William. Nesta isn't the helpful type of person but she learns how to help others. Nesta goes through a lot of problems but her mates are there to help her in her plights.

[Katrina Knittle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book/series is a very cute read. I llove how it centers around a group of four friends. This one book is mainly about Nesta. I love how you can see the characters change some in each book. I would definitely recommend this to teenagers.

[Feytje · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great! (Just like the rest of the Mates, dates series of course) It really shows you how you can make a difference, even if it's not that big! As usual made with the traditional recipe: a bunch of drama, a cup of laughter, teaspoon with sarcasm and voila! A genius book.

[Rosie]

I have read all her books they are soo hilarious and great