The Mates, Dates series by Cathy Hopkins

Biasa lagi iseng ke library Crossroads, tiba-tiba mataku tertuju buku warna-warni di daerah teen section. Pas diliat sekilas, eh lucu juga ceritanya, tentang kehidupan remaja, mengingatkan jaman saya SMP ampe SMA. Ada friendship, naksir cowok cute, terus gimana menghadapi peer pressure. Isi bukunya ga berat, ringan, lucu dan masih menonjolkan segi kebaikan dari berbagai masalah.
Biar saya udah kepala 3, tapi seneng aja bacanya, lumayan kalau lagi di gym atau lagi nunggu appointment *blushing*

Buku ini berseri dan masing-masing buku menonjolkan karakter yang berbeda. Persahabatan empat sekawan yaitu Nesta, Izzy, Lucy dan TJ.

Lucy is 14, yet looks like a 12-year-old. Boy that is. She's flat chested, short, and she just doesn't have the looks that she wants. Her two best friends, Nesta and Izzie, are the complete opposite of her. They are both 14, yet looks 16. Lucy decides, after falling in love with a guy at first sight, that she's going to change. She needs a makeover. Only she didn't realize how badly the makeover would turn out. Has she destroyed her looks even more than she thought they originally were?


Izzie meets a cute boy, Mark, and gives him her number and he says he will call, and she stays home as much as she can and keeps the phone lines open, but he never calls. When she bumps into him at the park, he gives her a reasonable excuse and then they spend the day together and he says he will call again. Then the same thing happens, he doesnt call. Izzie is getting tired of all of this waiting and while giving some advice to Lucy about calling the shots with the boys instead of letting them push you around, she realizes what to do.


"Trust me to go and fall for someone who lives on the other side of the planet."
Nesta has met the perfect boy: good-looking, fun, sweet. But there are problems, too. Simon's from a rich, upper-class background -- with a lifestyle to match -- and it's difficult for Nesta to keep up. And then there's Simon's friend Cressida. What can Nesta do to compete with the ultimate Designer Diva?
Falling for ultra-wealthy Simon, she thinks she needs to pretend to be someone she's not in order to keep him. When her pretenses catch up to her, and she is at the risk of losing him and her best friends Lucy and Izzie, she must tell the truth. In the end, the teen learns that it's best to be yourself. This is a quick and fun read, and even reluctant readers will enjoy following the exploits of Nesta and her North London friends.


Theresa Joanne (T. J. to her friends) is having a difficult year. First her best friend moves away. Then there's the problem with boys: They never seem to notice that she's a girl. But when Lucy befriends T. J., things start to look up. But will Lucy's best friends Nesta and Izzie accept her and let her into their world of sleepovers, secrets, laughter, and advice?
T.J.'s best friend Hanna just moved away and T.J. is all lonely. She becomes friends with Lucy and gets along with Izzie and Nesta too. T.J. has never had a boyfriend cuz all of the boys think of her as one of them and not as a girl. Her friends decide to do a makeover for her to get the attention the boy who lives next to her cuz she has a crush on him.


"I decided that next time I saw him, I'd have a word about maybe giving each other a bit more space. After all, Mum's always saying that you have to work on relationships and not give up at the first hiccup...."
Lucy feels left out of everything, everywhere she goes she sees people with boyfriends. That's all she wants, to fit in and she thinks if she gets a boyfriend like everyone she will fit in. She goes on what is suppose to be a relaxing weekend with her friend. There she meets someone she thinks is to good to be true!! Once she gets home and spends time with him, she feels smothered. He's running her life and she is loosing her friends. Then she thinks back and maybe she liked it better being single. The book takes place in London and the author is from London and the words she used were very interesting and different.


The mates are approaching Year Ten at school and Izzie has decided that she wants a whole new image, including a belly-button ring and a dangerous boyfriend. Then along comes Josh, who is older, rides a motorcycle, and is a stranger to her friends and parents. Izzie experiments with drinking and smoking pot, and sneaks out of the house while searching for her grown-up self. She swings between trying to have a good time being bad and quarreling with her mum and friends about her behavior. She is thrilled to land a singing gig at a local club, but her enchanted evening turns to disaster when Josh tries to get beyond snogging and she throws up on him. This embarrassing moment, along with his continued pressure to get her drunk, makes her realize that growing up means being true to one's self and not trying to be someone different. Izzie's mid-teen crisis and interactions with her mates, mother, and stepdad are authentic, and it's refreshing to see a stepparent portrayed as a good guy.


Nesta is kind of obsessed with her looks and she is known as one of the prettiest girls in her school and is very popular with the boys and stuff. Her friends mention that she is a bit shallow though because of it and because her last boyfriend was rich. She is determined to prove that she isnt shallow. Then she finds out she has to get braces and hides in her room and wont come out. Her friends comfort her that it isnt the end of the world and she is still pretty and she decides she will go out in public again, but keeps her hand over her mouth to hide her teeth. Then she meets Luke and he doesnt care that she has braces. But when her dad meets him, he has a grudge against him just from finding out what his last name is. Nesta and Luke try to find out what might have happened in the past between their families.


T.J. is doing a joint-school project and is assigned to work with Nesta's boyfriend, Luke. He tells her that he really likes her and says he will break up with Nesta so that he can go out with T.J. but T.J. is going out with Steve and doesnt want to hurt him or Nesta. Theres also Sian, a girl working with them on the preoject, and she tells T.J. that Luke said the same thing to her. When T.J. confronts Luke, he says that he didnt, and that Sian is just hoplessly in love with him and threw herself at him. Then Nesta starts to find out and she won't talk to T.J. and it becomes T.J. and Izzie against Lucy and Nesta.


It is Lucy's turn again and she has decided to lose her virginity to Tony. Her friends try to talk her out of it. Then she learns of a classmate who has gotten pregnant while being careful. Lucy decides to wait but Tony puts on the pressure and the result is a break-up. To make matters worse, the rest of the mates are of to Florence on a school trip but Lucy's family's finances won't let her go.
Well, things happen and Lucy manages to go on the school trip after all. There, while trying to avoid thinking about Tony, she winds up meeting and falling for a rich American boy. Romance blossoms and Lucy manages to overcome some insecurities. But all good things must come to an end and the vacation is over and its time for a new book.