The Lonely Hearts Club

Take one look at this cover - and the title - and you can tell this book will be laced with mentions of the Beatles. On the inside of the jacket it says:

"Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating, so she vows: No more. She's had one too many bad dates, and she has been hurt by too many bad boys. It's a personal choice...and soon everybody wants to know about it. It seems that Penny's not the only girl who's tired of the way girls change themselves (most of the time for the worst) in order to get their guys...or the way their guys don't really care. Girls are soon thronging to The Lonely Hearts Club, and Penny finds herself near legendary for her nondating ways - which is too bad, since the leader of The Lonely Hearts Club has found a certain boy she can't help but like..."

        When I first started reading this book, I was immediately hooked. I know how cliche that sounds but really, what young girl hasn't had her heart broken? That's what makes this character easy to relate with. Right in the beginning of the novel, Penny Lane - as her parents affectionately named her - feels she has to change herself in order to make her boy happy. So she makes these changes and SURPRISE: hes cheating on her. What a lovely summer. So right then she decides she is done with boys. No more dates with jerks. Easy peasy , right? Wrong. Soon a lot of girls want to join the club because they, too, are tired of boys breaking their hearts. Problem is, Penny Lane starts to fall for a boy at school. The only problem is...she's vowed to stay away from boys. I won't give away the ending for you but I will say that Penny is a strong girl who learns to stand up for herself and accept that not all boys are rude, there are ones out there that will treat you right.