The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield #2)

Reader reviewed by sara

This books gets you from page one.i couldnt put it down it was so good.in this one three girls and three guys are paired together.this book id wrote in emails,school notes,and diary entries but the funny art is one of the guys doesnt seem to exist.i found this one as good as it gets it is funny and really unrealistic but that comes with the territory of reading a fiction book I guess.

Reader reviewed by sweet134

The Year of Secret Assignments [also published as Finding Cassie Crazy] is one of those books that get you sucked in from the start.

Like its companion novel, Feeling Sorry for Celia, the book is written with emails, diary entries and school notices. I know that sounds a little boring, but in fact the style makes this book so humourous.

The book begins when Ashbury High and Brookfield High decide to have a "pen-pal" project between students of the different schools. The pen-pals are chosen through a number system, and no one knows who their pen-pals are. The letters exchanged between the students are completely confidential, and the whole point of the exercise is for students to experience the "joy of the envelope".

Three girls - Lydia, Emily and Cassie - get paired up with three guys - Seb, Charlie and Matthew.

Lydia and Seb become secret agents, daring each other to do things [such as preventing science exams from happening]. Emily tries to teach Charlie how to catch the girl he admires by running an interactive dating-tutoring programme.

But Cassie and Matthew? Strange things begin to happen, because it doesn't seem that Matthew even exists...

I feel like I'm reducing this book to a series of clichés, but in reality this is really a hilarious, wacky and original novel - with a touch of the unrealistic, but hey - this is fiction, and it's so funny that it more than makes up for it.

A must read.

Reader reviewed by Katie

The Year of Secret Assignments was an awesome book that reviles the truth of friendship. Writing letters to complete strangers couldn't have been better to read, friendship was created in letters and a new group formed to become friends, except for Cassie's penpal. But you'll have to read the book to find this out.

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Emily, Lydia, and Cassie, students at elite Ashbury High, orginally look down their noses at the assignment to write to a pen pal at the neighboring and not-so-elite Brookfield. Emily and Lydia are suprised by the kindness (not to mention sexiness) of their pen pals, but Cassie's is a different story. Her pen pal, Matthew, opens with a threat, but Cassie, determined to break through his hard shell, continues writing to him. They set up a meeting that leaves Cassie the worse fot the wear, and Lydia and Emily rushing to her defense and promising to avenge her pen pal. This story is told through letters, emails, and diary entries and shows what can happen when people from different worlds get together. This book is the usual fun teen read with an element of suspense that will keep you turning pages.

Reader reviewed by Ashley

this book was in its own way extremely funny and amusing. its a story of some kids doing an assingment to link two schools together. but when things get out of hand the assingment is stopped. but its too late, the kids have already made lifelong friendships and must keep in touch. this book is amazing. its a great comedy that I would recommend any day.... as a matter of fact i do...!

Reader reviewed by Grace

When their English teacher announces the Ashbury-Brookfield pen pal program, Year Ten's Lydia, Emily, and Cassie are reluctant to write to Brookfield's students. Ashbury and Brookfield have been rival schools forever, and Mr. Botherit thinks writing letters will ease the tension and help the students make peace. The English assignment becomes interesting when the girls' penpals set up secret missions (which include picking locks and setting off fire alarms) and fake identities, which result in a war between the schools.

This book is very funny and original, the way that Jaclyn Moriarty wrote it (I especially like Lydia's Notebook), and has everything you could want: romance, suspense, humor, and James-Bond-like secret missions. I would recommend this book to any teen.