Do you like reading books with drama and life-like stories?  If so, All I Ever Wanted is the book for you.

This book is set in a small town, in a rough neighbourhood where some of the people in the town do drug deals.  Mim (Jemima) is a 17-year-old girl who knows what she wants and where she wants to go, anywhere but her hometown.  She lives with a mother who doesn’t get off the couch and she has two brothers who are in jail.  Mim has set herself strict rules to live by, hoping if she follows these rules she will leave her home, go somewhere better and not turn out like her mother.  She is clinging to the idea that one day she will leave her hometown and go somewhere nicer.

It starts off with Mim’s mum sending her to get a package, but Jordan Mullen stole it. She was surprised at first then was determined to get it back.  Jordan comes from a very well mannered and successful family, and has been Mim’s crush for the last five years.  Mim creates a plan to get her package back. She befriends Kate Mullen, Jordan’s sister, to get closer to the package but she finds out Kate is actually a pretty cool girl.  Along the way of trying to get back her package she struggles to follow her rules.

All I Ever Wanted is a good book, but there were a few things I disliked.  I liked the characters. I thought they were realistic to teens growing up in a small, rough town and they brought a bit of humour into it.  The plot didn’t grab my attention, though. I thought it was a bit boring and plain.  I would recommend this book for teenagers at ages 14-17 who enjoy drama and life-like reads.

Ashley, Year 9

………………….

When you walk down the street you see lots of people walking and riding their bikes. Some have handbags and others have backpacks, but have you ever thought might be in them?

The book All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield starts in the outer Adelaide suburbs with Mim picking up a package for her mum who is a dodgy drug dealer who never leaves her recliner. Both Mim’s brothers are in prison for obvious reasons. Mim has set out some life rules for herself but is now starting to break them. She has always said that she will not be like her mother but with this package deal her rules are starting to crumble away.

On her way home from picking up what she thinks are drugs, she sees the boy she has a crush on and stops to see him. He then steals the package and her bike.

With her two brothers in jail and her mum on the corner of Dodgy Street, Mim thinks she is becoming one of them. As the reader you are then thrown into a sea of adventure and misfortune as Mim keeps breaking her own rules for the nine days before her 17th birthday. On the day of her birthday she wakes up and sees a package and opens it. What she sees may change Mim’s life forever.

As you are reading the book you feel sorry for Mim. She is the daughter of a dodgy dealer of a mother, and the love of her crush blows up in her face.

The plot is suspenseful, gritty and entertaining, but where the book really reels you in is how you are made to feel that you are right beside Mim through her journey.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone in secondary school; mainly because some of the language used is explicit, so the novel is not suitable for younger students.

Jackson B, Year 9

……………

‘All I ever wanted’ by Vikki Wakefield is a humorous yet dramatic novel. If you enjoy a bit of sarcasm and shock then this is the novel for you. This book is aimed at particularly female teens between the ages of 14 -17 years of age.

Mim is a young teenage girl, stuck in a boring town where nothing exciting ever happens. Mim waits for the day to get out as she is desperate to get out of her hometown and finds the outside world interesting.

Mim has a few personal rules that she has set for herself. Her number 1# rule? I will not turn out like my mother. Mim’s mother is a drug dealer & lends people money. If those people don’t return the money, Mim’s mother goes to their house to beat them and steal their belongings.

One afternoon Mim’s mother sets a task for Mim to go pick up a special package. Mim believes it’s drugs though it’s none of her business. Curiously, Mim takes it home but is stopped by her high school crush, Jordan Mullen. He uses his good looks, charms and persuasion to take the package, but Mim isn’t blind enough to hand it over. Jordan takes the package and runs, leaving Mim hurt from such disgust and betrayal. She devises a plan to take back the package before her mother finds out. Befriending Kate Mullen, Jordan’s sister, Mim works her way to stealing the package back while also encountering a few problems of her own such as fighting with her best friend Tarhnee. Mim struggles to follow her number 1 rule as she fights to get the package back.

I didn’t really enjoy the book as it wasn’t very interesting and it didn’t grab my attention . The plot of the story was a bit interesting though and it was shocking to see where the story went. I loved the amount of humour and sarcasm but the whole story in particular didn’t occur to be amusing to me.

Grace, Year 9