Diary of a Crush: French Kiss by Sarra Manning
| Diary of a Crush: French Kiss by Sarra Manning | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: A re-issue of the massively popular series, this is the first book about Edie and Dylan's relationship. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 240 | Date: May 2013 |
| Publisher: Atom | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0349001562 | |
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When Edie moves up to Manchester and starts college she’s a little scared – scared to be in a new town with new people, and none of her old friends. But then she meets a trouser-shape by the name of Dylan and everything changes. She develops a huge crush on the handsome but complicated boy, and chronicles her feelings for him in her diary. Well that explains the title, then.
This is not a simple, boy meets girl story. There are lots of obstacles in the way, not least the fact that while Edie is swooning over Dylan, he barely seems to register that she’s around. Others at college seem determined to keep them apart, and while it’s only a couple of years, the age difference between the two of them is significant. A field trip to France offers opportunities for things to go further, but also opportunities for it all to go horribly wrong. And as romantic as Paris can be for a couple, it can also be a horribly depressing place to be single. As someone off to the city in question next week, this book got me excited about my trip again, as it does give you a feel for the city (back in the UK, there is no reference at all to Edie’s new base of Manchester which was a shame – so few books are set here, that I always like the ones that are).
This is a re-issue of a book that actually started life as a magazine column, and then as a giveaway novella with said magazine. Back when I was just 14 or just 15, I used to read Just 17 (aka J17), because that’s how things worked. I also used to read 19, but then I was a rebel like that. I remember Diary of a Crush from the first time round, and I must have read the books to death because sections of this one came back to me word for word.
Some books you read as a teen make you cringe when your return to them as an adult, but this is not one of those. While it has been updated somewhat, to reflect current trends (celebrity crushes, social media), the core story is the same, and I loved it as much today as I did way back when. There’s something universally relatable about harbouring feelings for someone who seems out of reach, be it a famous face, a teacher or the boy in the year above, and I think that’s what makes these stories so popular. Edie is a nice girl, and a good narrator. The story moves swiftly on, and her voice is light, bubbly and well suited for a diary format.
As the first in a trilogy about Edie and Dylan’s on-again/off-again relationship, there’s lots more of the story to come for fans. The crush may develop into something more on the surface, but deep down Edie’s still the little girl whose stomach flips over at the sight of the boy who can make kissing the most exciting activity in the world.
Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.
While the Crush trilogy is my favourite, Sarra Manning has many other books worth a look. We've reviewed a small selection of them.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Diary of a Crush: French Kiss by Sarra Manning at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Diary of a Crush: French Kiss by Sarra Manning at Amazon.com.
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