Indi Ray is Totally Faking It Written by Lauren Layfield. Reviewed by Iona, Age 13

I feel the challenges Indi encounters when moving to her new place are very close to reality and will be felt by many others her own age. She struggles to make friends and I wasn’t convinced that her method (making things up) was the best even though it made for an interesting read.

The 374 pages were quick and easy to read. They are split into 21 chapters which are introduced by snappy and attractive headlines summarising the section. I liked the diary-style format with dates, times, the addition of notepad copies and text messages. The constant use of slang and capital letters to stress some words or sentences make it fresh, fast paced and packed full of action.

I liked the moral of this story to stay true to yourself which at the beginning Indi finds it hard to. All she wants is to fit in and to be like the other girls, get a boyfriend and be fashionable. She hears and compares everyone’s amazing lives to hers which she feels doesn’t match so she starts to lie. As she can’t keep up the deception, she hurts her new friends but they forgive and accept Indi as she is.

The book comes with a sheet of stickers which are cool and you can either do what you wish with them or as it suggests, personalise your Indi Raye copy.

It took me only two days to finish Indi Raye is totally Faking It and I think it would interest other teen girls close in age to Indi as they face similar challenges and lives. I found that the book also provides an escape from the real world and it is a great holiday read!

I didn’t know the author Lauren Layfield but I really liked the way she wrote and I would love to read the follow up to this first outing. I wonder what Indi Raye will get up to as she moves to year 10 now that she seems more settled in her new life.