Changes

Cor blimey, imagine thinking up stuff like that as a 14 -year -old! I know I was never that profound at that age, and would struggle to be now. Maybe my mind just doesn't come up with stuff like that, but as you read this and get to know Harriet, you can truly imagine that hers is the sort of mind that does.

Though she's likable likeable in lots of ways - she's honest, intelligent, witty and entertaining - it's Harriet's gumption I admired the most. When she goes into a bookshop who have previously declined to stock her book, and, impersonating a member of the public, asks them (a) if they have it in and (b) if they could check with Waterstones when they confirm they don't, it's genius, as is the finishing touch (Waterstones up the road do stock it... as do 54 of their other branches - cue suitably repentent repentant sales assistant). She's a girl you want to root for immediately, someone you really want things to work out for, and whom you're just so happy for when things go right. The strong female work ethic in the book (there are no men who really feature in the story, except for Jean Claude who is really just a bit of eye candy) is refreshing precisely because you don't get either extreme rubbed in your face - it's not a "look at us women, we can do anything, who needs a bloke?" kinda story, nor a "oh no, there's no man around to help" one.