Reviewed by Liz: Scissors, Sisters and Manic Panics by Ellie Phillips.

Product details:
Publisher: Electric Monkey.
Paperback, 288 pages.
Release date: July 1st 2013.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Other Books in Series: Dad's, Geeks & Blue Haired Freaks.
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Liz from Planet Print.

Sadie Nathanson's back - with more style and tangles than ever before. "Mrs Nellist came in for her cut and colour while Auntie and Tiffany were out the back having a coffee, leaving me to sweep up, and that's kind of where everything got really ugly. It was the hairstyle that Mrs Nellist never knew she wanted. That's all it was about. I don't know why everyone had to go so completely hysterical about it, but that's my family for you." Sadie Nathanson is back! After sorting out exactly who she is, she now feels ready to tackle who she is going to be! With hair as her focus, Sadie decides to enter a major hairdressing competition - though she has her work cut out for her when she gets fired from her Saturday job in Auntie Lilah's salon. And if that's not bad enough, it turns out there are yet still more surprises in store Dadwise..

Sadie is back and things have been going great – she has an amazing boyfriend, a cool job doing what she loves and a good relationship with her biological father, who she discovered last year. But just when Sadie’s not expecting it, things start to take a turn for the worse and now she’s left with no job, a rocky romance and another shocking family revelation. With a big hairdressing competition coming up, Sadie has to find another job ASAP and sort out the messes in her life, or her dreams of becoming a top hairdresser will soon be out of reach.

Scissors, Sisters and Manic Panics was a fun sequel to Dads, Geeks and Blue-Haired Freaks, and it was nice to see what was happening in Sadie’s life. She and her dad Abe seemed to be getting along, and she was really enthusiastic about hairdressing; taking classes in college and also working at her Aunt’s salon on Saturdays. However, she seemed to lack confidence in her own abilities, and after a few setbacks she began doubting herself, even though she was really talented. She was worried about the upcoming competition, but I think she handled things well and I was glad by the end she was feeling better about her skills and had two mentors who respected her.

Sadie’s relationship with Tony was a bit strained after a misunderstanding of sorts, and to be honest, I didn’t mind too much. Firstly, because I knew they would probably get back together, and secondly, I was never really a fan of Tony’s. I didn’t really get why he liked Sadie, and he didn’t have much of a personality. We never really got to learn much about him – his brother Enrico was in this book, which was nice, but apart from that, I barely knew anything about the guy. Like in the first book, however, the romance didn’t play a massive part, so this didn’t take much away from the book.

Billy, Sadie’s cousin, who was one of my favourite characters in the last book, was having a few problems of his own; for him it seemed like everything was changing and he was also worrying about a decision he had to make concerning his band. However, he and Sadie were still close and could both confide in each other – Billy was one of the first people Sadie turned to when she found out she had a half-sister.

I did have a few problems with this book, mainly because I found the way the characters talked and acted at times was a little unrealistic (and the text speak was really annoying after a while). The sudden appearance of Marie, Sadie’s half-sister, was a bit odd as well, I mean, how likely would it be for Sadie to have a sister so nearby, the same age and willing to go visit her? I was also confused about Sadie’s online friend, Groovechick2. In Dads, Geeks and Blue-Haired Freaks, it seemed like things were set up so that we would find out more about this person and their problems, but in the end, they were barely mentioned at all. It seemed strange, especially since Groovechick2 played an important role in the first book.

Overall, Scissors, Sisters and Manic Panics was a light, quick read, great for taking on holiday with you. While I had a few issues with it, I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a fun contemp to read this summer.

 

--Liz.