The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty

Well here I am, once again, singing the praises of Jaclyn Moriarty - I seriously cannot get enough of her wicked sense of humor and intelligent teens who understand the necessity of a good friend. As far as I'm concerned, every single one of her books I've tried have been utterly perfect and The Year of Secret Assignments is no exception.

Mr. Botherit is at it again with a new group of Ashbury High students, ready to implement project "The Joy of the Envelope." Best friends Emily, Lydia, and Cassie aren't too sure about having to write the criminals and hooligans of Brookfield high, but teachers just don't understand that, do they? So it's with some trepidation that three await their first letters - which they receive from Charles, who keeps asking Emily for advice on girls; Sebastien, who must prove his trustworthiness to Lydia by performing a series of secret assignments; and Matthew, who despite his cruel letters, slowly begins to respond to Cassie's continued replies. Of course, being Emily, Lyd and Cassie, their seemingly innocent letters do not remain innocent for long. Their correspondence quickly leads to alarm pulling, lock picking, and even a few pranks gone wrong that just might escalate the rivalry between the two schools into an all-out war.

Like Jaclyn Moriarty's other Ashbury High novels, The Year of Secret Assignments is written as a series of letters, journal entries, emails and various legal-sounding lists and briefs from Emily's dad. All of which are simply excellent. As the stars of this book, Moriarty captures Emily, Lydia and Cassie's friendship to perfection. They really three distinct personalities with equally distinct faults, yet they still love and support each other just the same. And like I've said before, this book is hilarious. All three are blindingly intelligent ladies and I love them to pieces. Their constant witty banter is pretty much my favorite part of the book. Well, that and their ability to think up some truly hilarious pranks. Yet at the same time all the humiliations and turmoil of being a teenager still shine through without ever becoming preachy.

Since I read The Ghosts of Ashbury High first (bad, bad reader!) in which I promptly fell in love with the girls, I was pleased to discover that The Year of Secret Assignments gives us a deeper insight into the trio's enviable friendship. I do have to admit that Emily still remains one of my favorites - the girl's misuse of words constantly had me in stitches. She's a little bit drama, a little bit crazy, but infinitely likable and extremely loyal. Plus there is also Seb and Lyd's crazy relationship chock full of secret agent worthy adventures and heart-rate-racing couple moments.

At the risk of sounding like a besotted fangirl, I'll go ahead and say it now: Love, love, love these books. Love, love, love Jaclyn Moriarty. Go and track down ANY of her books right now, because you are simply missing out if you haven't read one of her hilarious novels yet.

Other Ashbury High novels (not necessary to read in order)
~ Feeling Sorry for Celia - my review
~ The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie (Becoming Bindy MacKenzie or The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie)
~ The Year of Secret Assignments (Finding Cassie Crazy)
~ The Ghosts of Ashbury High (Dreaming of Amelia) - my review

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Smugglers review (Totally Awesome Books award)
Dragonfly Book Reviews review 
Not Enough Bookshelves review
Reader Rabbit review
Reviewer X review

book source: publisher giveaway

Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

Last month I stumbled upon the fabulous, the funny, the clever Jaclyn Moriarty in her latest novel The Ghosts of Ashbury High and have been on the hunt for her other books ever since. Simply put: I love this woman's books to bits. Getting my hands on Feeling Sorry for Celia couldn't have made my day brighter.

*A side note, although all four books take place at Ashbury High, it is not necessary to read them in order. They are loosely connected and I would recommend you at least read The Year of Secret Assignments before The Ghosts of Ashbury High, but it's not strictly necessary. As for me, I read them all out of sequence (highly unusual for someone so bookishly OCD as myself) and still loved each one.

As the title suggests, Elizabeth Clarry is truly worried about her best friend Celia. The pair have been inseparable ever since they were tiny but lately Celia has been acting strange - even for the unpredictable Celia. She's run away (again) and Elizabeth doesn't know who to confess her fears to: not her mom, who stays busy with work and only communicates with Elizabeth through post-its on the fridge (albeit hilarious post-its); not her father who has suddenly reappeared in her life and who would like nothing more than to take her to fancy restaurants and talk about fancy wine (ugh); and not Celia's mom, who can only think of Celia's habit of escaping as a beautiful form of youthful expression.

It's not until Mr. Botherit, Elizabeth's brilliant English teacher, sponsors a letter writing project called "The Joy of the Envelope" between his students and the local public school that Elizabeth finds herself detailing her worries to a complete and utter stranger, Christina. Beginning somewhat hesitantly, Elizabeth and Christina slowly forge an unusual friendship solely based on the written word yet one that expands to help each other through a multitude of joys and heartaches.

Frequently, their letters are interrupted by missives to Elizabeth from The Association of Teenagers, The Best Friends Club, THE COLD HARD TRUTH ASSOCIATION, and The Society of High School Runners Who Aren't Very Good at Long-Distance Running but Would Be if They Just Trained. With the subtly of a sledgehammer, these witty letters add humor and levity to the constant niggle of teenage self-doubt ever present in the girls' letters.

I'll say it again: Jaclyn Moriarty's books are made of win. I love that they written completely as letters. I love that even while they manage to be laugh-out-loud funny, they still capture all the heartbreak and all the turmoil inherent in the ever-changing landscape of teenage friendships. Elizabeth's voice comes across so fluidly in Feeling Sorry for Celia. I felt myself responding to every poignant or exultant letter in kind. Love, love these books.

Other Ashbury High novels (not necessary to read in order)
~ Feeling Sorry for Celia
~ The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie (Becoming Bindy MacKenzie or The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie)
~ The Year of Secret Assignments (Finding Cassie Crazy)
~ The Ghosts of Ashbury High (Dreaming of Amelia) - my review

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
21 Pages review
The Bookette review
Bookshelves of Doom review

book source: my local library