The Crushes

After cementing their lifelong friendship with The Breakup Code, Alexia, Kelly, Raven, and Sydney are heading into the summer before their senior year. Between Raven's depression over the four-week loss of her boyfriend, Horace, to the city of Detroit, Sydney fulfilling volunteer obligations at the local hospital and vowing to make the second round of her relationship with Drew work, not to mention Alexia being in love for the first time in her life, the former can't help but worry that she and her friends might be drifting apart. When Alexia spots Kelly's hot new kick-boxing instructor, she sees the perfect solution to both her concerns and Kelly's state of singlehood: The Crush Code. Thirty-eight rules guaranteed to nab the guy of their dreams. Pretty soon all four girls are trying out the code - Sydney on fellow volunteer Quinn, Raven on her new neighbor, Blake, and Kelly on her instructor, Adam; but the code can't distract Kelly from the boy she really likes. The one boy in the world she can never have... It's been a long time since I read a book that made me cry, but Pamela Wells does such an incredible job portraying the roller-coaster ride of emotions that come with young love. Whether reading about Alexia's uncertainty about losing her virginity to Ben, Raven's desire to remain faithful to the boy she loves while feeling intensely attracted to someone else, the thrill of new flirtations, or the pain of ultimate betrayal, I was transported into the emotions of each characters' journey. THE CRUSHES is an excellent, heartfelt novel about friendship, first love, and surviving the difficulties life throws your way. Reviewed by: Cat

In the sequel to The Heartbreakers, you meet friends Alexia, Raven, Kelly and Sydney once again. But a lot has changed from the first book. All the girls now have boyfriends, except for Kelly. Sydney and Drew have gotten back together, but there seems to be a little trouble brewing there. Raven and Horace are having to spend a painful month apart, but will the flirty Raven remember her love for him when he's gone? Alexia is spending a lot of her time with her boyfriend, Ben. Then it comes time for "the talk", but is Alexia ready to make that decision? Since Kelly is single, Alexia comes up with the idea for them to make a Crush Code, since they no longer need the Breakup Code. This new code is hopefully going to help Kelly snag her crush on the gym guy, Adam. And with forty one rules, this should be easy. But what happens when Kelly realizes that she's actually crushing on someone that she can't have? Reading The Crushes is like reading a book about your best friends. You get into the story and really start caring about the characters. Honestly I was rooting for all of the girls to do what makes them happy and hopefully find the happiness that each girl deserves. It's a real book with real situations and can be relate able for any girl. You don't necessarily have to read The Heartbreaks first, although I would recommend that you do, so that you can get a background on each of the girls and their situations in the story. If you haven't read this series yet, then I highly suggest that you do so. So run to your nearest bookstore (or library) and pick this up. You won't be disappointed. Plus, you'll have some good reads over the Christmas holidays for when your family starts to drive you crazy! Also, there will be two more books in the series, so keep your eyes out for those to come soon!