Book Shelf: Flirty Dancing (The Ladybirds #1) by Jenny McLachlan

Bea Hogg is shy but fiery inside. When national dance competition Starwars comes to her school looking for talent, she wants to sign up. It's just a shame her best friend agreed to enter with school super-cow Pearl Harris. Bea will fight back! But when school hottie, Ollie Matthews, who also happens to be Pearl’s boyfriend, decides to enter the competition with Bea, she will have more than a fight on her hands.

This warm, nuanced, hilarious story about friendship, fortitude . . . and dancing is impossible not to fall in love with. Jenny’s voice is fresh and convincing, and she handles both darker and lighter elements of the story with equal panache.

More info on Goodreads......


Review:

Flirty Dancing by Jenny McLachlan is an extremely cute and fun novel that is a wonderful start to a promising new YA series. Sassy, sweet and actually quite addictive, this novel is the perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Flirty Dancing follows fifteen year old Beatrice "Bea" Hogg, and sees the shy but determined teenager discover the opportunity of a lifetime when a national dance competition hosts auditions and thanks to her quirky Nan, Bea manages to find herself paired up with her school’s resident hottie, Ollie Matthews. Discovering a natural talent she didn’t know she possessed, together Bea and Ollie jive their way up through the rounds and into the finals, with Bea discovering along the way a happier, more confidant version of herself.

When I picked up Flirty Dancing off my shelf, I had planned to read a few pages, maybe a chapter or two….but before I knew it I was halfway through the story and very eager to keep reading. Jenny McLachlan’s writing is easy to read and her voice fresh and fun. Flirty Dancing was honestly just a downright good book to read. It was light and enjoyable and very easy to breeze through; the kind of novel you start and then want to read all the way to the end.

The main character was young, but not at all childish considering she was only fifteen years old. Her voice was kind and sweet, and she came across as a down to earth, normal young girl with natural insecurities and normal feelings. McLachlan explores issues of teen bullying, first love and all the ups and downs of being a teenager in this novel, and through Bea perfectly.

There was really nothing about this novel I could fault. Bea was a great main character and McLachlan compliments her well with a great cast of supporting characters. There’s some true friends to Bea in this story and some real mean girls too. Ollie is a great love interest as an honest to goodness nice guy and Bea’s family, most especially her little sister Emma make for a lot of smiles and laughs.

Considering this series is set to follow Bea, Betty, Kat and Pearl in individual books, I’m very much looking forward to reading Betty’s story next in Love Bomb and then the subsequent stories that follow. A fantastic, easy read---I highly recommend Flirty Dancing if you’re looking for something fun and enjoyable!

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by Bloomsbury Australia (Thank you Sonia!)
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Bookworld | The Nile | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Recommendation: Looking for a fun contemporary YA? This is perfect for you then!
Cover: It's cute and quirky.....
Will I read sequel/continue with series: Yes :)