When Jasmine, Cybelle and Michaela finish high school they go their separate ways, but the distance between them is no match for the secrets, fears and hopes that bind them together. Cybelle has a stalker, an anxiety disorder and warring parents. Jasmine studies at a regional university and her social life explodes, but the guy she falls for is not what he seems. Michaela works at The Yellow Dinghy Café and meets a girl very similar to herself. However, she is using an assumed name and Michaela wonders why.
At the end of the year, they organise a fund-raiser for the New South Wales drought, which Jasmine has experienced first-hand. The night promises to be a success but disturbing revelations and petty jealousies loom large. Michaela always thought Cybelle had the perfect life and Jasmine, who is on scholarship, resents being poor. Can they work through their problems and repair their friendship before it’s too late? And who is lurking in the shadows, determined to sabotage it all?
When Jasmine, Cybelle and Michaela finish high school they go their separate ways, but the distance between them is no match for the secrets, fears and hopes that bind them together. Cybelle has a stalker, an anxiety disorder and warring parents. Jasmine studies at a regional university and her social life explodes, but the guy she falls for is not what he seems. Michaela works at The Yellow Dinghy Café and meets a girl very similar to herself. However, she is using an assumed name and Michaela wonders why.
At the end of the year, they organise a fund-raiser for the New South Wales drought, which Jasmine has experienced first-hand. The night promises to be a success but disturbing revelations and petty jealousies loom large. Michaela always thought Cybelle had the perfect life and Jasmine, who is on scholarship, resents being poor. Can they work through their problems and repair their friendship before it’s too late? And who is lurking in the shadows, determined to sabotage it all?
Cockatoos screeched overhead, a blur of ivory and gold. Jolting in her seat, Michaela gasped as splashes of coffee scalded her skin. Wretched birds, she thought, her eyes welling. That morning, her two best friends had fled Sydney, and over the day, loneliness had settled around her like a thick, impenetrable fog. Cybelle, the perfect ballerina, had jetted off to London, and Jasmine, who’d enrolled at a regional university, was probably already unpacking. She’d been incommunicado for the past few weeks and said she’d had the flu, but Michaela suspected something else was up.Â
As for herself, Michaela had chosen to take the year off and recuperate from the gruelling Higher School Certificate. She was more of a doer than a thinker, and preferred acting in a play or designing jewellery to writing essays. Despite this, in the past year, her mother had banned her from treading the boards, so she could concentrate on her studies. The problem was, Michaela didn’t see herself working in a high-rise or becoming a do-gooder public servant, so what was the point? She wanted to do something that was financially lucrative, but at this point, she had no idea what that might be. Selling on Etsy had crossed her mind, but it sounded like a lot of hard work.Â
Michaela drained her cappuccino, tossed the empty cup in the bin, and sighed heavily. Fishing out her keys, she wondered what the year would bring. Most likely nothing of consequence, except for a bit more hard cash from her waitressing job . . . The cold metal dug into her palm, and Michaela’s senses heightened. She swivelled around and scanned the thick hedges that lined the street. Was someone watching her? A dog barked, and Michaela jumped. I’m going completely looney, she surmised, jabbing the remote. As the tiny hatchback roared down the street, a person, previously hidden by a clump of azaleas, stepped onto the footpath and stared.Â
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If you are looking for something quick and easy to read, The Yellow Dinghy Cafe is a great pick. The multi-perspective writing lets you enjoy the story from the eyes of the 3 friends, who are all on a journey of growth and self-discovery.
The intrigue with this one was quite high for me. I found that I was quite looking forward to picking up the book, since it did feel like such a fun, relaxing read, albeit it did touch on some tough topics here and there.
Speaking of tough topics, I feel like these weren't always handled perfectly. For example, when a character was describing having OCD, it felt like she was reading out an article with a list of the most common symptoms. I'm not sure why, but something about it felt unnatural to me, which is something I felt throughout a lot of the dialogue in this book in general. It was almost as if the author was trying to write teenagers but kind of failed, making them sound quite stereotypical at times - this is especially true when it came to the male characters in the novel. It was quite jarring at times, to be honest.
The characters also felt a little bit undeveloped at times. If it weren't for the different settings, the three main characters would have been a bit indecipherable. It felt like their personalities were quite similar - even though they were being described as different, the way they acted was very similar.
Overall, I think the novel could have done with a few more rounds of editing. It's clear that Sophie Chenoweth had a vision, but I feel like the execution was not as great as it could have been. The story definitely had potential, but it didn't 100% reach it. However, again, if you're looking for a light read, definitely consider picking this up, just take it all with a pinch of salt.