By Rachael Fernandes (author)
"This multi-layered coming-of-age gem melds romance with meaty themes around finding the courage to say what you think, and be who you are."
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“This is the year I’m going to turn eighteen. This is the year I apply to university. This is the year I try to work out what’s coming next”. This is how seventeen-year-old Serena sets out her stall in Say What You Think , a relatable, uplifting, Croydon-set novel that sees Rachael Fernandes explore an array of pertinent YA themes with a tenderly deft touch.
Serena and her friends (“an ethnically diverse British collection: myself, Indian; Faye, Irish; and Kira, Ghanaian”) are mad about Rose Conrad, a musician who “always releases an album at the moment something new is happening. And we’re going into upper sixth this year.
It is a big year”. But while Kira has ambitions to be Prime Minister, and Faye knows she wants a career in fashion, Serena has no idea what she wants to do. Also worried about going to uni and leaving her arthritic mother alone, Serena struggles with feeling self-conscious and knowing who she is: “I don’t always feel connected to being Indian, because we don’t speak another language at home or practice any religious or cultural events, but that’s still what everyone sees when they look at me”.
Into this, when another of Serena’s best friends (and long-time crush) moves to Manchester, she can’t quite pluck up the courage to tell him how she really feels, with more complications arising when she starts writing an anonymous, outspoken “Secret Sender” column for the school newspaper. While this helps Serena realise she wants to become a writer, it winds up getting her into hot water, while she starts getting the hots for her new neighbour.
Teeming with will-they-won’t-they tension, and coming-of-age concerns around having to make huge life choices, in Say What You Think Rachael Fernandes has crafted a richly relatable contemporary novel that’s ideal for teenagers and young adults who are themselves on the cusp of making big decisions, and for fans of Ellie Pillai Is Brown and Not Here To Be Liked .
Every time Selena's favourite pop star drops an album, momentous shifts happen in her life. And with new record 'In Between' it's no different.
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Selena's just starting her last year of school - and needs to decide her next steps, as the UCAS deadline looms Olly, her just-realised-how-much-she-fancies-him neighbour has suddenly moved away, replaced by the pretentious, sarcastic Ty And her (anonymous) Secret Sender features are getting a massive reaction in the school paper.
But Selena's going to have to unmask her writing identity soon, and learn to own her feelings, her identity and her voice - or she might just lose her following, her first love, and her shot at a dream come true.
Rachael Fernandes is a British-Indian twenty-something writer; born, raised and still living in South London. Rachael started her career at Penguin Random House, and has since worked in marketing for major national and international brands. She wears many hats; having a first-class degree in Maths and Chemistry, a diploma in Art and was selected onto the Curtis Brown Children’s and YA Writing course, where she developed THE MERCURY IN ME. You can also find her occasionally on stage, performing regularly in an improv group.
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The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Say What You Think and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Say What You Think features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Featured Books for Young Adults, Recommendations, Romance / Relationship Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Paperback. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. In Stock.
Say What You Think was written by Rachael Fernandes and published by Fox and Ink Books
Say What You Think has 316 pages
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. In Stock.
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