TMI

Author: Sarah Quigley

Pages: 302

Published: Dutton, 2009

Genre: Realistic fiction

Age Range: 13 & up

Cover Score: A

Overall Grade: B+

Becca Farrell has a bad habit: nicknamed "the Overshare Queen" by her friends, she often confesses and blabs on and on about personal information to anyone who'll listen. But when a TMI moment leads to her sweet band-geek boyfriend breaking up with her, Becca decides she needs a change. With the pressure of keeping a new friend's deepest secret, getting the lead in the school's rendition of Grease, having to share a stage kiss with her crush, and her mom's pregnancy, Becca needs an outlet. So she turns to an online blog, where she is free to gush and spill as much as she needs through her alter ego, Bella, who tells it like it is, gory details and all. It's not like anyone's ever going to read it...right?

My thoughts: TMI was a light, refreshing, and funny read that has great characters and relatable events.

I loved Becca's character: she was honest, hilarious, and charming. Even though I felt that she could be a bit obnoxious at times, she was really realistic and came off as mature beyond her years. Her blog entries were hilarious--I wish there had been more scattered throughout the plot! Secondary characters Jai, Katie, and Matt were well-developed and came off as people I'd really like to be friends with: they were real and fresh.

However, the story started off really, really slow, and sometimes it felt like there were too many words. True to form, Becca's narration tended to ramble in an unnecessary way, but the plot picked up about halfway through when Becca's big blogging secret was spilled.

I really liked the way Ms. Quigley tied the story up--it made me hope for more Becca and more of Ms. Quigley's addictive writing! Overall, a quick, fun debut.