Me + Mr J by Rachel McIntyre Review

'Even when something feels right, it can still be wrong'

That is the overall moral of this hear wrenching story.

In McIntyre's 'Me + Mr J' we meet Lara Titliss, a 15/16 year old english high school student who is severely bullied throughout the novel by Molly and her 'hangers-on'. As well as the bullying Lara has to deal with difficulties at home, holding down a job, helping her parents and keeping up her A* grades at school. But the one thing Lara was able to cling on to was her crush on the new English Literature teacher Mr Ben Jagger; a dreamy, sufer like, early twenty year old. Needless to say her love for Mr J explodes when the Teacher Student relationship is breached causing it to become more of a Romeo and Juliet sacrifice story.

I had so much fun reading this novel.

I found the written format very intriguing. It is set out as a diary causing it to feel as if I was re-reading a diary I had once written and it felt like I was re-living the emotions I had felt when I was a teenager, which instantly helped me connect with Lara on an emotional level.

I havent read many books with a similar premise that is set in England, usually when a book makes a referance to a show or band its one I am not familiar with, so when I came across the mention of shows such as 'Noel Edmunds Deal or No Deal' and other such shows I was thrilled, this book really made me feel as if I was apart of the story not just the reader.

However having praised the writing style I also have to mention how it is only from Laras point of view meaning I couldnt be sure if what she was telling me was truth or fiction (in my experiance teenage girls have a tendancy to exaggerate). It would have been nice to know what other characters points of view were.

This novel really struck a chord with me (on a reader and personal basis) and even though the ending wasnt the one I was hoping for I am glad it followed what would happen in a real case of student teacher relations.

I would recommend this book to girls twelve and up.

You can purchase this book here:

Waterstones: www.waterstones.com/book/me-and-mr-j/rachel- mcintyre/9781405273442

Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Me-Mr-J-Rachel-McIntyre/dp/1405273445/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439489725&sr=8-1&keywords=me+and+mr+j