The Real Rebecca

Carey’s teen voice is spot on … the dialogue crackles with authenticity and dry humour

-- Mad About Books

Our new Book of the Week is The Real Rebecca by Anna Carey, a great new voice and definite Princess of Teen

-- Books for Keeps

Adolescence is not a period fondly remembered by many but author Anna Carey has a knack of getting the details just right.

-- Irish Independent Review

Carey’s teen voice is spot-on, and the dialogue crackles with authenticity and wry humour ... It is an excellent debut novel that would delight any Louise Rennison fan

-- Irish Independent

respected Dublin journalists Anna Carey and Bridget Hourican (The Bad Karma Diaries, due in March) have debut novels with O’Brien Press this season. Carey’s book, The Real Rebecca, is the first of this new wave.

-- Irish Independent

Publisher O’Brien Press has a reputation for discovering talented children’s authors, and this is a very good debut novel: despite the familiar territory it is fresh and original and Carey has a distinctive voice.

-- Books for Keeps

Rebecca’s sharp descriptions of her daily humiliations are very entertaining

-- Books for Keeps

I love books like this, and they're always a welcome break from the more serious YA I read. If you're looking for an enjoyable, angst-ridden account of a 14-year-old's life, I think you've found the right book. It's well worth a read.

-- Wonderous Reads

The Real Rebecca deals with all sorts of teenage problems ... Carey tackles each subject with humour and realism, not to mention deadpan one-liners that will have you laughing out loud

-- Wonderous Reads

it definitely had a certain spark to it - I read it in one sitting!

-- Wonderous Reads

This is a hilarious and authentic account of a Dublin teenager told with a wit and warmth reminiscent of Judi Curtin

-- www.richtercollective.com/kimharte

I laughed and squirmed my way through The Real Rebecca, the sparkling and spookily accurate diary of a Dublin teenager. It’s stonkingly good and I haven’t laughed so much since reading Louise Rennison. Teenage girls (and grown-up teens) will love Rebecca

-- Sarah Webb, author of the Ask Amy Green books

A story that anyone who has dreams will enjoy, because the road to achieving dreams is long and hard, but it can be fun, especially with the support of loved ones.

-- Nayu’s Reading Corner

I was laughing throughout most of the book. I like reading books like this because it's interesting to view them from an older perspective (I'm over a decade older than Rebecca), having had some of the same feelings myself.

-- Nayu’s Reading Corner

I'm hoping for a second book because Rebecca still hadn't found out an important detail about him by the end!

-- Nayu’s Reading Corner

The characters come to life and the situation’s plausible yet mixed-up with plenty of craziness ... Rebecca's a spirited, yet slightly awkward teenager and it's fun spending time in her company. So just like the Battle of the Bands - be prepared to be entertained!

-- Tall Tales and Short Stories

funny first-person narrative with witty one-liners ... The humorous storyline moves along at a cracking pace and we cringe along with Rebecca

-- Tall Tales and Short Stories

Hurrah! - the cover isn't pink! Rebecca's a spirited, yet slightly awkward teenager and it's fun spending time in her company. So just like the Battle of the Bands - be prepared to be entertained!

-- Tall Tales and Short Stories

Irish journalist Anna Carey’s debut book should appeal to young readers, especially those who feel they just aren’t understood.

-- Irish Examiner

The story rattles along at a glorious rate - with plenty of witty asides. Rebecca herself is a thoroughly likeable heroine - angsty and mixed-up but warm-hearted and feisty.

-- Books Ireland

With plenty of reference to reality shows, band competition and fashion brands, the background is bang up to date ... I did find Ms Carey’s book almost impossible to put aside.

-- Books Ireland

Those brief but delicious and cherished conversations with paperboy and the fact that Rebecca doesn’t even know his name, yet is madly in love with him, give this diary-style book great credibility.

-- Evening Echo

the key strength of this young-teen title is her ability to recreate the acute awkwardness of being 14.

-- Evening Echo

What I loved most about this book was that the dramas were small but significant, and always hilariously written. Rebecca had a brilliantly common-sense approach to the craziness that built around her, and I loved her recognition that even the nastiest girl in her class wasn't really that bad, and that the meanness was actually a bit pathetic.

-- Chicklish Blog

This book is fantastic! Rebecca is sweet, funny and down-to-earth, and I adored her friends, her quirky parents, her changeable but ultimately loving older sister and the swoonworthy paperboy.

-- Chicklish Blog

It’s a really good teen book. The Real Rebecca is funny, really funny ... What I really loved about this book was that it wasn’t set somewhere in England or somewhere in America but is definitely set in Ireland and is full of slang and reference points

-- Sarra Manning's Blog

What is it like inside the mind of a teenage girl? It’s a strange, confused and frustrated place, as Anna Carey’s first novel The Real Rebecca makes clear ... A laugh-out loud story of a fourteen-year-old girl, Rebecca Rafferty.

-- Hot Press

Written in the form of a diary, The Real Rebecca is a charming and funny novel that captures the eye-rolling aggravation of being a teenage girl - particularly one with a crush. A great choice for young readers.

-- Hot Press

Written as a diary, this one is aimed at the pre-teen. And they’re sure to love it

-- Irish Examiner Weekend

This is a funny light-hearted romp ... Carey’s observation of adolescent self-absorption and uncertainty is sure and precise.

-- Irish Times Weekend Review

Now two fresh names to young people’s fiction refashion contemporary emotional kaleidoscopes into teen chick lit, a category of writing with its own conventions ... Their (Anna Carey and another author’s) skill shows their deft handling of plot and in their characters’ credible responses to their teen emotional crises. In particular, both writers have considerable insight into the minefields of adolescent friendships and know how to keep the pages turning.

-- Irish Times Weekend Review

'Written in diary form, this is a funny book which many teenage girls will identify with even if their mother is not a bestselling novelist.'

-- Books Ireland

'The brilliantly funny The Real Rebecca by Dublin freelancer Anna Carey (O’Brien Press) has to be the start of a new Irish genre- teen chicklit.'

-- Evening Herald

'Anna Carey is a welcome newcomer to the exalted ranks of Irish women writing for ‘post-pre-teen’ reader ... Welcome to the world of Rebecca Rafferty: boys, music, bitches and drums.'

-- Inis Magazine

'gentle angst and comedy at constant counterpoint ... easily read and easily engaged with ... enjoyable foray into young teen fiction.'

-- Hannah Deacon (16yrs), Inis Magazine

'the language and story structure are easily accessible ... brilliantly funny, full of fun and laughs, and the voice of the central character is very genuine and relatable ... A thoroughly enjoyable read and a strong start for Carey.'

-- Mary Esther Judy, Inis Magazine

'wonderfully humorous moments, and moments of great satire too.'

-- Jane Carroll, Inis Magazine

'The Real Rebecca is an excellent book which, if you like 1st person/diary books, can be really exciting in showing ways of school life.'

-- The Guardian

'A pleasurable and extremely humorous read, this novel will appeal to young teens who will enjoy the protagonist's voice and the central theme of self-discovery'

-- Book Fest

'To find a really funny book, for teenagers, about teenagers, is a treat ... written in the form of a diary, that of a fourteen-year-old girl whose mercurial emotions are reflected in all the entries. These are haphazard, sometimes, but always hilarious .

-- School Librarian magazine

'treats the embarrassment of mother/daughter relationships wittily and realistically'

-- Sunday Independent

'well written, highly readable'

-- Irish Indepen