Mates, Dates, And Inflatable Bras (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
Firstly, every girl should read the mates, dates series! The books that make up this series are life lessons that every girl will be able to relate to and use in their own teenage journey. Fourteen year old Lucy wishes she was everything she's not, taller, to have bigger boobs, brunette, funnier, flirtier, less babyish looking, blessed with less embarrassing parents. Unfortunately for Lucy she learns that just wishing something would happen doesn't make actually happen. When she is faced with a boy dilemma, Lucy must rely on her friends for guidance. Lucy's character is great. Plagued with all the worries a teenage girl would have at the young age of fourteen she has to navigate through them in order to move on and grow up, making her really easy to relate to. Even re-reading this at the age of 23, I can see some of me in Lucy and it made me feel nostalgic for my teenage years! Lucy takes the first tentative steps into the world of relationships and love when she spies a gorgeous, hunky, older lad leaving a near-by school. Having no experience at her young age Lucy does what every girl would do, turn to her friends and ask for advice. The story shows how teenage friendships have ups and downs, especially for girls, and how lasting friendships can overcome any circumstance. I cannot recommend this book any higher, especially for teenage girls. It is packed full of real life situations that young girls will find themselves in as the battle through the turmoil of growing up, and finding your place in the world. Making and breaking friendships, lessons in love and making choices that affect your future. Without telling you the reader how to handle situations in real life, this book offers some sage advice and guidance in the form of fitting quotes and anecdotes.
Summary: The book is about a girl named Lucy who gets a writing assignment in school. The assignment is “What makes me, me?” In the beginning, Lucy does not know who she is. She is always comparing herself to other girls and telling herself she is not pretty and does not know what she wants to do with her life. Throughout the book with the help of her friends, Lucy finds out who she really is and becomes more confident with herself then she had ever been. In the end, Lucy gains everlasting friendships and winds up able to write the paper about herself.Age: The age range for this book is for early teen girls. It is fun to read because it is from the U.K.Elements: This book is fun to read because a woman wrote it from the U.K. so some of the words are different. Because of the content of the book, it is a better book for girls because it is about young teen girls who are trying to find out who they are. Recommendation: This book is the first of a series and they are the books that really got me to enjoy reading. I loved all of them this one in particular focuses more on identity and what Lucy wants to be when she grows up. I probably would not recommend it for schools but for some kind of girl’s small group or social type of thing, I do. It is a great book because Lucy is trying to fit in but at the same time she does not and she gets lost and caught up in what she thinks she needs to be with who she really is.
What do You think about Mates, Dates, And Inflatable Bras (2003)?
Emily ShepardHumorI found myself laughing and loving this story, it reminded me a lot of what forming into a teenager was like. The main character is Lucy Lovering. A 14 year old girl followed by her best friend since elementary school Izzie and a new girl Nesta. They were all given an assignment by their teacher, Wacko Watkins as they call her, to write about themselves; their likes dislikes, what they want to do when their older. Lucy is stuck. Shes unsure about herself, unsure about her underdeveloped body and wants desperately to have things back the way they were. She's afraid shes losing her best friend Izzie to the new girl Nesta and she really wants to meet the handsome boy she saw walking out of St. Micheal's school. To her surprise she ends up meeting the mystery boy in a very unlikely place, making an unexpected new friend and finds her new young adult self with the help of her hippie parents and friends.
—Emily
"Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras" is a lot like Louise Rennison's "Angus, Thongs, And Full-frontal Snogging" without so much of the light sexual humor that Rennison employs. Hopkins' book takes place in and near London in the life of Lucy, a fourteen year-old with an underdeveloped body and a knack for self-doubt, pretty much like any other teenager. Lucy has to deal with a beautiful, new student named Nesta who Lucy feels is stealing her best friend, Izzie. Lucy doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up and has a hard time in the boy department. Overall, this book is an exploration in common teen anxiety. Even though the basis of Hopkins' novel isn't groundbreaking, her characters are delightful and give the reader some pleasant and sweet surprises. Readers can identify with Lucy and her woes, but Hopkins helps the reader have compassion for other characters as well.Another reason I liked this book is because I love reading about English culture. I completed a student exchange in London and this book made me miss all of my friends and some of the very unique British products and idioms. I think that readers can learn a lot about British culture and how it differs/is similar to American teen culture from this book."Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras" is a series and I can't wait to pick up the next book. This novel was a quick, engaging read for anyone who wants to escape back into adolescence.
—Cat Conner
Lucy Loverling is a girl after my own heart. She's short, and people are always assuming she's 12, when she is 14. Story of my life (when I was in high school). Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras starts off with Lucy in class. Her teacher, whom she calls Wacko decides to assign the students an essay question, "What makes me me?"The whole book then consists of Lucy's search for self, her search for her special talent and her first kiss. I definately think this book would work well with younger girls. What tween girl isn't obsessed with themselves? I mean, when I was 13-14-15, I was boy-crazy, self-concious, and had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I think this book would have gone over very well with that version of myself.
—April
