The OMG Blog (Conker) (Conkers)

Brilliant

A good read

The OMG Blog also came at the perfect time; I’d had a really stressful few days and picking this book up was some much needed light relief in the middle of all of that.Jessie, Shanice, Rose and Zarah all find their mums embarrassing. They love them but they just wish that they wouldn’t cause quite so many “grrr” moments. I’m holding my hand up here, I never had the parents in my teen’s scenario growing up so I have no personal experience to call on, but I can appreciate The OMG Blog without that. Being embarrassed by a situation/person outside of your control is pretty mortifying. Though to be fair to the girls mum’s they didn’t know.The OMG Blog is quite contained so I was pleased that Karen McCombie created such rounded characters for the girls. As the reader I had a good idea of who everyone was, Jessie in particular, but also the other three girls and their mum’s.

In this new book by Karen McCombie, we see 4 girls in their first weeks of secondary school being flung together and then working together on a blogging project. Their developing friendship has them each see their mums’ through the eyes of others and in a new light.I loved the way the characters - of the girls and the mums – gradually unfold and the friendships strengthen. It is a very realist portrayal of settling into a new school and building friendships, through a light-hearted storyline.As a Barrington Stoke ‘Conkers’ publication, this is an easy to read novel-length book for ‘tweens’ (9-13), with a layout which is fun, but easy on the eye. The book is dyslexia friendly and has some wise words about online safety at the end.I’d certainly recommend it to both reluctant and keen readers, especially those just transferring to Secondary school.