The Oyster's Autobiography

Looking for that contemporary read that will leave you saying, "aww..."?  Let me introduce you to Kitty Kilby's The Oyster's Autobiography.  For any of you who were ever shy in high school.  For any of you who wished you could have courage or be someone else.  For anyone who was ever scared to take a chance.  This book is for you!  Who could ask for more than an authentic, self-discovery story that starts with blackmail from a best friend and ends...well you'll have to read to find out!

Summary courtesy of Goodreads:

Shy girls don’t yarn-bomb the school fence at dawn, and they definitely don’t skip school to hang out with Patrick Hayes—student council president, football vice-captain (and president of his own fan club). But then, best friends don’t usually resort to blackmail.

Fifteen-year-old Mabs is the shadow to Olivia’s sun. That’s how it’s always been. But when Olivia goes on a semester-long exchange to France, Mabs can no longer hide behind her best friend.

When a letter arrives, postmarked Paris, the last thing Mabs expects is blackmail. And unless she completes the enclosed list of dares by the time Olivia gets home, Olivia will send the love poem she stole from Mabs’s diary to the boy it was written about.

What’s even worse than the possibility of Rob Eno (her way too easily decipherable codename for the former object of her affections) seeing that poem, or her best friend thinking that she’s a friendless recluse who needs to be blackmailed into getting a life, is having to admit it just might be true.

After a few humiliating attempts, Mabs realises the only way she’s ever going to get the list finished in time is to enlist the help of an extrovert. Enter Patrick Hayes, her brother’s pain-in-the-neck best friend. The ultimate extrovert, he might be the only one who can help Mabs finish the list, and step out of Olivia’s shadow.

We all know I'm a serious lover of a good coming of age story and throw in some flirty banter and blackmail and I'm putty.  Kilby did a wonderful job building some really fantastic characters that you can't help but fall a little in love with.  First off, bravo for creating a character like Mabs who has a little bit of each of us in her.  She's completely wonderful with a great heart and so much character but she is so used to living in her friend's shadow that she has no confidence in who she is...that is until her friend Olivia heads to Paris and leaves Mabs all alone to fend for herself...only she left a "to-do" list of sorts that takes Mabs on a journey that will forever alter how she sees herself and how others see her as well!

What a fun read!  If you're looking for something to throw into that picnic bag or take on your next trip, def add this one to your list!