Rave or Rant - Lily by Any Other Name

Lily by Any Other Name – Julie C. Gardner

A coming-of-age gem which embroils the wonders, fears and bombshells of teenage life, experienced by Lily Anderson.

Lily’s life is the typical complicated disaster which befalls most adolescents, and she trudges through it in the endearing and selfish way most teenagers do, accompanied by her loyal bestie Sarah and a cluster of typical characters I can relate to and easily put faces to from my own school days.

The running theme of the book is picked up in the chapter titles where Lily is called by . . . any other name. A pointless but quirky conundrum within the story. Initially I found the captioned chapters unnecessary in moving the story forward, but at the start of each new chapter found myself wondering in what context Lily’s ‘other name’ would appear in the chapter. And when I discovered it, whoopee. Yeah, I know.

This YA book is targeted at a young audience and author Julie C. Gardner delivers characters who are well-rounded and lovable, including antagonist Madison, who incarnates the nightmare which is every girl’s ultimate rival.

The plot involves a delicate web of love, secrets, sisterhood, rivalry, SnowFest disaster, a less than prefect prom and revelation of a secret Lily’s parents have kept from her. Her hit-and-miss romance stumbles at every hurdle, and whilst I found myself sympathising with love interest Zach, tangled in his own adolescent drama, I was secretly rooting for Sugar-Bear Connolly.

Laugh aloud one-liners were plentiful. A satisfying read with a feel good ending blended with tears (mine, not Lily’s). I recommend this book to young teenage girls and their besties – and their older sisters – and their mums even. YLOO.

Also by Julie C Gardner - Letters for Scarlet

#Rave