Jude’s family are crazy, quirky, bizarre…her mum brings her plenty of problems and her dad thinks he’s Elvis! All she wants is a hassle-free life – but it’s not easy when she’s chasing a trail of broken promises. Nothing seems to go Jude’s way, until she realises the floppy-haired boy from school could be her knight on shining rollerblades. Cathy Cassidy’s latest offering starts humorously enough with the usual teenage angst about the embarrassing family (gran turns up at parents’ evening complete with knitting etc). However, as the tale progresses and more is revealed about Jude’s mother, a more serious tone emerges. Alcoholism, the death of a grandparent and the anxiety felt by those living in an unstable world is the main theme of the piece. The impact of coping with an alcoholic parent and ageing relatives is sensitively drawn, without descending into high drama and Cassidy maintains both humour and pathos.

The second key theme is first love. The Sundae Girl of the title is Jude, a teenager who because of the problems in her life, has shut her heart away and refuses to let outsiders in, least of all a boy. Floppy-haired Carter has to work hard to melt the heart of this ice maiden. At times I felt the romance was almost too drawn out – I would have succumbed much earlier I think – I found his attempts at romance charming.

 I don’t listen to many audiobooks but found that I was keen to get back in the car and find out what happened next. I felt the kind of engagement one does with a telelvisual experience and India Fisher’s narration had a comforting tone. I would recommend this to girls who have read Jacqueline Wilson and are ready for books more focused on young love.

2007-07-31