I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson
The second novel from journalist and author Allison Pearson, I Think I Love You is the story of Petra, a lovesick teen in 1970s South Wales with a whopper of a crush on David Cassidy.
Warm, affectionate and easy-to-read, it’s a vividly-painted nostalgia trip as Petra and her friends plot and scheme how to hoodwink their parents into letting them adventure to London and see their idol in the flesh.
From beauty routines and fashion mistakes to the jealousy, rivalries and insecurity that teen female friendships inevitably involve, readers will recognise Petra’s experiences and anxieties all too well.
Beautifully-observed, Pearson’s funny and authentic use of voice and dialogue make it an endearing and enjoyable study of teen heartbreak and hysteria, and the conflicts and complexities of parental relationships.
Similarly, the same can be said of the original language and imagery Pearson uses (a mouth reveals “a Stonehenge of ancient teeth” and the sexiest of Petra’s clique somehow even manages to wear her school tie so that it’s “like a lizard tongue for licking up boys”).
In the not-as-strong second half of the book, a middle-aged Petra with her marriage in pieces is reunited with her former best friend for an adventure to Las Vegas to meet David Cassidy, accompanied by the man who was once responsible for the David Cassidy fanzine they obsessively pored over.
As a bonus extra, the book also includes a transcript of an interview between the author and David Cassidy highlight some of the true-life elements incorporated into I Think I Love You, such as the fan that died after being caught in the crush at Cassidy’s White City concert.
Although unlikely to scoop any literary awards, it’s a bittersweet and immersive escape into a time long gone, but one many women will empathise with.
The paperback edition of I Think I Love You was published by last week by Vintage Books. Buy it from Amazon for a bargain £3.49, or grab the Kindle edition for £3.32.
Rating: 3/5 (But probably far higher for the ones who were David Cassidy obsessives themselves)
Recommended for: Anyone who got spent their adolescence with their knickers in a twist over an iconic and unattainable musician.
Other recommended reading: Ease your pain at never having seduced your teenage poster pin-up by reading the memoirs of the ones who did.
Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers by Caroline Sullivan is £6.39, and Pamela Des Barres’ I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie is available from £7.70.
Jane Bradley
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The Bay City Rollers book in recommended reads is absolutly brilliant. Highly recommended.
Thanks Jess, it’s on my list of books to retrieve from the boxes in the attic next time I’m at home – read it years ago and remember absolutely loving it!