BOOK REVIEW: Jumping to Confusions by Liz Rettig

To begin with, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy Jumping to Confusions - the main character, Cat, is "the fat, plain one in my family". Her sister, Tessa is blonde, gorgeous and popular, mostly with boys. Cat's mother favours Tessa and comments relentlessly on Cat's weight. I felt like I'd read it all before and couldn't be bothered to read it again, but Cat's voice convinced me to keep going and I'm glad I did.

Tessa fancies Josh, the son of Cat and Tessa's father's American boss, who has moved to Glasgow to restructure the company. But when Josh seems more interested in Cat than in Tessa, Tessa suggests it's because he's not interested in girls at all...

What follows is utterly unbelievable, but strangely compelling. On the assumption that Josh is gay, Cat makes him her new best friend and utilises him for everything from bra shopping to kissing practice. Much of the entertainment comes from the fact that the reader knows (or at least I imagine most readers would know) that Josh isn't gay at all, rather he's interested in Cat ... and Cat is making a holy show of herself.

Plus there's Cat's crush on her schoolteacher (although she doesn't think it's a crush, she believes that he's just waiting for her to finish school so they can be together) and her - mostly hopeless - attempts to matchmake her friends.

Even though Cat came across as pathologically oblivious to what was right in front of her face, I really liked her. She's such a funny, good-hearted and stubborn character. Josh is very cute and Cat's group of friends are highly entertaining too.

Not necessarily a realistic read, but a highly entertaining one.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Pretty Face by Mary Hogan

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