Go back to your school days witha good book (Do You Remember The First Time? - Jenny Colgan)

Member Name: EllieKate565

Product:	Do You Remember The First Time? - Jenny Colgan
Date:	25/09/06 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, sweet, great characters, makes you remember being 16 yourself.

Disadvantages: The time travel is not well explained and you just have to accept it as true.

Do You Rememeber the First Time is a great book to read if you ever think you are getting old and wish you could go back to your school days, or if you ever have 'If only they could see me now' feelings about your old school friends. It is lightweight, and at times a bit silly, but the relationships between the characters in the book are written very realistically and this makes it a great read.

The plot begins with Flora, a 32 year old accountant, feeling very unsure of her relationship with her partner Olly, in the run up to her best friend's (Tashy's) wedding. Reminiscing about how they hoped their lives would have turned out when they were 16, Flora begins to feel that she has let her 16 year old self down. As the wedding progresses, and her partner looks as if he might propose, she freaks out and wishes she was 16 again...
....and then she wakes up, in her parents' house, as a 16 year old schoolgirl.

The beginning of the book is admittedly a bit stupid. It's not explained how Flora goes back in time, or why her parents go back with her while her friends stay the same age, or why Flora can recognise all her 32 year old peers, but her parents have no idea who any of them are. If you can take this all with a pinch of salt however, the book becomes fantastic from this point on.

It is a bit like reading teen fiction as an adult. The scences in Flora's secondary school and the anxieties her and her friends face, remind you of exactly what it felt like to be 16. But because this is adult fiction, it is not patronising or badly written, instead it takes you back to your own school days. There are also many hillarious scences, such as the bit where Flora and her 16 year old best friend go to see Darius in concert and end up getting up on stage with him.

As well as being funny, this is quite a deep and sensitive book. When Flora goes back in time, Tashy herself confesses how unhappy she is in her relationship with her fiance and how she feels like she has made a mistake. Colgan outlines the pressure on women to find a husband and get married, regardless of how compatible they might be.

The other main theme in this book is 32 yr old Flora's past relationship with her childhood sweetheart (Clelland), and 16 yr old Flora's relationship with his little brother(Justin). It is an odd love triangle where we want Flora to be with Clelland but know she can only be with Justin due to her age. The scenes where 16 yr old Flora and Justin lose their virginity together are also funny, but very well written and a good description of what it's like.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a thought provoking read about relationships and people, but is not going to get stressed out about attention to detail and time travel. I loved this book and I hope other people will too.

Summary: A good girly read.