View source for Love, Peace and Chocolate (Pocket Money Puffins) by Cathy Cassidy

{{infobox1
|title=Love, Peace and Chocolate (Pocket Money Puffins)
|author=Cathy Cassidy
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=A Pocket Money Puffin for the 9+ age group which delivers a gentle message about the value of friendship.  Good value as it will stand rereading.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=128
|publisher=Puffin
|date=May 2010
|isbn=978-0141330211
|cover=014133021X
|aznuk=014133021X
|aznus=014133021X
}}

Jess and Kady have been best friends since they were three years old and now they're in year eight at Parkway Community School.  They're on the edge of puberty but things have been a bit slow on the boyfriend front – not that either of them is looking to rush things, particularly as there isn't a single Y8 boy who can make their eyes light up.  They've a good, solid friendship which means a lot to both of them and they both think that nothing can come between the girls.  Unfortunately they hadn't taken the arrival of Jack Somers into account.

Jack has rock star looks and a winning way with all girls.  Both Jess and Kady are smitten, but in the early days Jess is fairly certain that she's the favoured one and when he starts dating Kady she can't cope with the disappointment.  It's not long before cracks start to appear in the friendship – and finally there's a break.  The trouble is that Jack Somers is more than happy to take advantage of his good looks and it's not long before Kady is heading for emotional upset too.

I really enjoyed this book.  As an adult it took me about an hour to read the 128 pages – not least because I really wanted to know what happened to the girls.  Cathy Cassidy has created a couple of characters you're really going to warm to, with their delightful mixture of maturity and innocence.  She captures the way that girls talk to each other and their text messages perfectly and when I finished the book I was somewhat surprised to find that the girls weren't in the house with me.  It's a good story, well told and with a message about the value of friendship which is delivered in a very non-preachy way.

Some of the Pocket Money Puffins for older readers are a little heavy on previews of the author's other books, but here it's restricted to just half a dozen pages at the end of the book and to my mind this makes the book very good value for a young person with some pocket money to spend.  It's an entertaining story and one which will bear reading more than once.  Definitely recommended.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If this book appeals to you then we're sure that you'll love other books by [[:Category:Cathy Cassidy|Cathy Cassidy]].  She's a treasure.

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