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, 10:56, 3 June 2014
{{infobox
|title=OMG! Is This Actually My Life? Hattie Moore's Unbelievable Year!
|author=Rae Earl
|reviewer=Robert James
|genre=Teens
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1406340013
|pages=336
|publisher=Walker
|date=February 2013
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406340014</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1406340014</amazonus>
|website=
|video=
|summary=This fun diary with a great sense of humour doesn't quite live up to early promise but is still an entertaining read.
}}
Hattie Moore has got a nightmare family with an evil brother, a gran who’s a ‘total mental’, and a father who she knows nothing about. As well, she wants to be a total hotness goddess and take down rival Miss Gorgeous Knickers but there’s no boy interested in her (or is there?) Hattie’s diary tells the story of a year that could just change her life. As long as her stepfather doesn’t hate her too much for throwing up in his fish tank, that is…
I enjoyed this book; Hattie has a brilliant voice which drew me in and I read it in just a couple of sittings. It’s a breezy read full of fun characters – Hattie herself being the stand-out, but I also loved her dirty-minded Gran, boy next door Goose, and friends Weirdo Jen and dimple. Hattie’s relationship with her family, particularly her frustration with her mother and stepfather, is particularly well-captured – it’s clear that they’re a loving family but you can see why they get on each other’s nerves a lot. As well there are lots of lines which made me laugh out loud – I loved Hattie’s gran’s reassurance that she’d have no problem getting home from a rather wild New Year’s party as ‘she’s put her name and address on her dentures if she gets lost.’
My only complaint with this is that I think it tails off towards the end. I could see the revelation about Hattie’s father coming a mile off and as that part of the story comes more to the fore, the humour seems to fall away a bit. That’s not to say it’s bad, and I still enjoyed reading it, but the last third or so didn’t live up to the early promise for me.
Despite this, it’s an easy book to recommend as a really fun read, and I’m looking forward to starting the sequel this week!
My go-to recommendation for teens wanting a light contemporary read is still [[Have a Little Faith by Candy Harper]], along with sequel [[Keep The Faith by Candy Harper|Keep the Faith]]. I also think fans of this one would enjoy [[Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison]].
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