I Made Lattes for a Love God ~ Wendy Harmer

 'Elly Pickering has a juicy secret. A secret her PR mum won't let her tell anyone because if the kids at Oldcastle High knew that mega-star Jake Blake ( yes, THE Jake Blake, teen sensation and all-round heart-throb) was coming to Oldcastle to film his latest movie, they might just explode with excitement.

Elly is determined to get on set and to get more than a glimpse of her Hollywood crush. But now, thanks to an unfortunate incident involving a car, a huge red handbag and the paparazzi, it looks like Elly has lost a lot more than her opportunity to be close to Hollywood royalty. She's lost her dignity, her job and her best friend. How can she get everything back to normal?'

In I Made Lattes for a Love God Wendy Harmer has included it all. Romance, suspense, humor, reality and the heart-throb, over dramatic world of teenager girls.  Throw in environmental issues and the need to be green, the trials and tribulations of teen friendship and relationships and the use of text talk and you have a book that is sure to be a hit with young females. This is the second YA Novel by  Wendy Harmer following I Lost My Mobile At The Mall, and again we see ourselves on an adventure with Elly Pickering. I Made Lattes for a Love God continues the humorous tone of her previous novel and builds a cult following of a character full of innocence, desires, fun and family. Harmless, realistic reading that allows one to become consumed by the fantasy within.

As a mature adult I must admit that I found I Made Lattes for a Love God a little slow and boring at times but once I rezoned myself into the teenage world I became to understand where Wendy Harmer was taking the plot and the appeal this book would have to the teenager today. As a parent it was nice to see issues of today's society hidden amongst the book, securing it's place in the market. I felt confident that I could hand this book to any young adult knowing that I was providing a safe haven that would encourage  relaxation and reading. 

I Made Lattes for a Love God is about finding yourself in a teenage world. The struggles of acceptance, bullying, friends, dating, love and loneliness, change, family, unity, trust and honesty, all in a non threatening, non challenging environment. In 254 pages Wendy Harmer has achieved creating a journey with Elly Pickering that will leave thought, inspiration and meaning within the reader.

Above all I Made Lattes for a Love God is easy to follow, well written and very Australian. The characters are easy to relate to and realistic. After all aren't all parents embarrassing? Don't all dads have daggy jokes?  A recommended and enjoyable read for any YA novel fan.


Review: Jennifer Deaves