Book Review of Gingersnaps by Cathy Cassidy
A Great Book for Girls aged Ten to Thirteen
Apr 25, 2009
Cathy Cassidy’s books are extremely popular with girls in the 10 - 13 age group. As they enter puberty relationships between girls become trickier, and conflict escalates. Cassidy understands the dynamics between girls, and her highly developed emotional intelligence leads her to produce stories that girls really relate to.
Cathy Cassidy Began Writing Fiction Early
Cassidy was born in Coventry, UK in 1962. An avid reader and writer throughout childhood, she sent off story after story to teen magazine Jackie, finally having her first story accepted for publication when she was sixteen.
Learning to Write for Children
After school she studied art, and then got a job as an office assistant on Jackie, working her way up to being fiction editor. ‘Working at the magazine was a lot of fun,’ she says, ‘and it taught me an enormous amount about writing for children and teenagers.’
She became an agony aunt on another teen mag, Shout, and it is here that her deep understanding of the feelings and emotional fluctuations of girls must have crystallised.
Cassidy is an Exceptional Writer of Fiction for Girls
She is an exceptional writer as not only are the stories realistic and true to life, speaking directly to the situations that all young girls entering adolescence experience, but she also has the ‘cool’ factor. Unlike many books for this age group, which are super-cool but have no substance, hers are finely balanced between a strong storyline, memorable characters, a wise message and a glossy image.
Gingersnaps is a Great Book for Girls
The heroine of her latest book, Gingersnaps, is a 12 year old who hates her name – Ginger. After being bullied at primary school, she has reinvented herself with the help of her sister, and on the first day of high school makes a new friend, a very cool, but self obsessed and shallow girl called Shannon. She also meets a weird but wonderful boy called Sam, who wears a trilby and plays the sax.
Shannon doesn’t approve of Sam because he sees through her shallowness. He likes the real Ginger, the one without the heavy makeup who does everything Shannon suggests and who is thoroughly taken in by this girl who represents everything she has always longed to be.
The Story Carries a Strong Moral
As Cassidy says in the blurb, “Gingersnaps is a book about fear, friendship and falling for the wrong boy. Ginger must learn to believe in herself before she can work out who her true friends are. Will she stick with cool, calculating Shannon – or take a risk and follow her heart?”
This is a book that will give girls not only reading enjoyment but will also help them cope with the complexities of puberty and peer pressure.
It is published by Puffin Books. The ISBN is 978-0-141-32212-4
You can read more about this extremely good title in my Blog posting.
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