Definitely for the younger reader/listener

As a story, Love Edy was decent enough fare, but compared with the YA field as a whole, it didn't really grab me. It's standard teenage school romance stuff and while it's pleasingly angsty in places, it's not on a par with, say, Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses series, or Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking. Those who are looking for something different won't find it here. It's much more for those who love Romeo and Juliet and want more of the same, especially if they are in Shewanda Pugh's target demographic. I don't think it's patronizing her, them, or my much younger self to say that I haven't been a member of that cohort for a very long time.

That said, Natalie Neckyfarow's narration gives gives Love Edy a definite lift. For one thing, she absolutely nails the atmosphere of high school - gossipy, cliquey and viciously catty. As she narrated, I could see not just the girls, but the boys as well, reminding the older listener how insecure, funny and throughly horrible teenagers can be. Speaking of which it's hardly surprising that Edy prefers Rani (Hassan's mother) to her own. . On the page, Rebecca Phelps is frightening enough, but when she's voiced, she's a monster of clever manipulation and downright nastiness. She's also a gifted, brilliant, beautiful trailblazer for African-American women everywhere - how can a teenage girl face down someone like that? The audio format allows her to be all those things and quite funny as well; a houseful of teenage boys in the middle of the night does nothing to faze her.

Shewanda Pugh provides enough of a cliff-hanger at the end to make me want to find out what happens next, so I might download the second in the series onto my Kindle. And although it's not really my cup of tea, I'll bear Love Edy in mind for the next Romeo and Juliet fan I come across.

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