Teenagers live their life one rumour at a time. They’re picky with friends, judgmental and irresponsible. They hold grudges. They don’t let go easily. They’re overdramatic, selfless and backstabbing. Add peer pressure and bullying to the equation and you have yourself the definition of a teenager’s lifestyle. If you don’t feel sympathy of those going through the stages of the teenage years, you will after you read ‘Being Bindy.’

      Living in a small town, Bindy is a teenager going through the struggles of life with her best friend Janey. But between people giving her the cold shoulder and fallouts between her and her parents, can Bindy really trust anyone? With new friends, mean girls at school and embarrassment on the horizon, Bindy may just learn the true meaning of forgive and let go.

      This book is not for everyone as it is quite fast paced and does not hold tension, but for those who have a short attention span it will intrigue you from the start. Though the book may be predictable at times it engages the reader and takes you into the mind of Bindy and her complicated life. The book itself is a good read for those who are just beginning to read novels with it being for those who are at an average reading level. I recommend that this book would be of interest to girls who are in their late years of primary school and early years of high school as it may relate to what they are going through at the time. It would appeal to people who have an interest in young adult fiction.  With this book pleasing many people it is understandable why it is popular and even though it did not please me it will certainly capture your attention.

     Simone S, Year 9.

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     Being Bindy is written by Alyssa Brugman in 2004.

     “The Very Bad thing happened just as I was moving out of the Lotus Posture and into the Side Bow. All my muscles felt stretched and relaxed. I had my leg in the air; released the stretch, and-oops! Released something else.”

     Being Bindy is a novel about a girl called Bindy, who used to be best friends with Janey, until Janey’s personality changed, meaning she wanted to be popular. Janey’s new best friend became Hannah (their childhood enemy). Hannah didn’t want Bindy to sit with them, because she would wreck their reputation, so Janey sent her away.

     “I’d never sat on my own in the schoolyard before. Everywhere I looked I saw smirking faces, people whispering to each other or whistling.” 

     A couple of weeks later, after Janey and Bindy’s breakup, their parents decided to get together, meaning they had to try and get along. Janey threatened to become Bindy’s sister (which she didn’t want happening), so they decided to make a breakup plan. Will the plan work? Or even better, will they become best friends again? You will never know until you read it.

     I enjoyed Being Bindy, because it is an hilarious novel based on a young teenage girl’s life, with all the struggles you usually wouldn’t face. I recommend this novel to young teenage girls from about eleven to fifteen years of age. Will Bindy make it through the tough challenges she faces?

Natasha A, Year 9

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‘It’s not me Janey. And that’s not you, either. It might be Hannah but it’s not us.’

      The story is set in a small town where Bindy lives with her dad and brother Kyle. Janey has been Bindy’s best friend forever but lately Janey has been acting differently, dressing differently and hanging out with Hannah who thinks she is absolutely superior to everyone else.

      Janey and Hannah make the decision to ditch Bindy after an incident at yoga. This leaves Bindy with some tough decisions to make, such as making new friends, how to overcome teasing and much more. Danger strikes as Janey threatens to become Bindy’s new sister and neither of them wants that. They are prepared to do anything to sabotage their parents’ happiness.

      What I enjoyed most about this book is that Bindy is faced with real life problems that most of us in teenage life may have to face. These include losing friends and making new ones, bullying, embarrassment, loneliness, isolation, dealing with divorced/ separated parents, coping with change and conflict.

      Personally I would recommend this book to a female teen audience who enjoy heart and mind novels. I would rate this book a four out of ten because although it deals with teen issues, personally I would have enjoyed more suspense to keep my attention.

Indiia M, Year 9