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Cathy Cassidy is one of the UK's top-selling children's authors. She was an art teacher, a magazine editor and an agony aunt before becoming a full-time writer. She has worked at Shout magazine and previously at Jackie, the magazine named after Jacqueline Wilson. Cathy tours extensively around the UK - meeting over 10,000 young readers in 2012. She has twice won the prestigious 'Queen of Teen' award. Cathy lives in Merseyside with her husband, two dogs and a cat. Read more about the author here.
Cathy Cassidy has a talent for writing positive and life-affirming stories even though they’re about young people facing really difficult situations. Sami’s story is almost too sad to be told. He’s a refugee from Syria, and lost his father, mother and little sister in the Mediterranean as they tried to reach the safety of Europe. That story is told through the pages of his notebook, but it’s interspersed with the story of his life now, living in England with his aunt and uncle and playing in the band Lost and Found. The friendship of the other band members is the best healing possible, and he has a special friend in Lexie, star of the first book in this series. Sub-plots provide light relief, e.g. when Marley recruits tone-deaf Bobbi-Jo into the band convinced her record-producer dad will make them stars. It’s a lovely and very successful mix of music, friendships and the power that comes from kindness and compassion, and classic Cathy Cassidy.
In a nutshell: families lost and remade through love, friendship and music Lexie is a rescuer: it starts when she finds a lost tortoise and leads to her setting up the Lost and Found group at school. That’s meant to be a talking session for the lonely, but turns instead, thanks to the input of school bad boy Marley, into a vibrant musical band. Forming the Lost and Found helps Lexie understand her own feelings - she’s been looking for her mum who disappeared when Lexie was just nine. It also helps her finally accept the love of her foster family. It’s a typically heart-warming story, filled with characters young readers will understand, and shows how we can all find communities to love and support us. Cathy Cassidy writes with the insight and lightness of touch that marks out Jacqueline Wilson, and this new series will be another favourite with readers. ~ Andrea Reece
June 2017 Book of the Month | In a nutshell: families lost and remade through love, friendship and music Lexie is a rescuer: it starts when she finds a lost tortoise and leads to her setting up the Lost and Found group at school. That’s meant to be a talking session for the lonely, but turns instead, thanks to the input of school bad boy Marley, into a vibrant musical band. Forming the Lost and Found helps Lexie understand her own feelings - she’s been looking for her mum who disappeared when Lexie was just nine. It also helps her finally accept the love of her foster family. It’s a typically heart-warming story, filled with characters young readers will understand, and shows how we can all find communities to love and support us. Cathy Cassidy writes with the insight and lightness of touch that marks out Jacqueline Wilson, and this new series will be another favourite with readers. ~ Andrea Reece
A new book from Cathy Cassidy is always a treat, and her many fans are going to love The Broken Heart Club. Cathy Cassidy has a gift for capturing the turbulent emotions of young adolescents, those who are no longer children, yet not very adult, and writes about them with extraordinary warmth and sensitivity. It’s a time when friendships, even long established ones, can come under pressure, as happens in this book. Andie, Eden, Ryan, Tasha and Hasmita were best friends forever, but at the end of year six something happened to cause a massive break up between Eden and Ryan. Two years on, they want to reform their group. The friendships and emotions described will be completely familiar to readers, who will be entranced by this story from the very first page. ~ Andrea Reece
May 2016 Book of the Month A new book from Cathy Cassidy is always a treat, and her many fans are going to love The Broken Heart Club. Cathy Cassidy has a gift for capturing the turbulent emotions of young adolescents, those who are no longer children, yet not very adult, and writes about them with extraordinary warmth and sensitivity. It’s a time when friendships, even long established ones, can come under pressure, as happens in this book. Andie, Eden, Ryan, Tasha and Hasmita were best friends forever, but at the end of year six something happened to cause a massive break up between Eden and Ryan. Two years on, they want to reform their group. The friendships and emotions described will be completely familiar to readers, who will be entranced by this story from the very first page. ~ Andrea Reece
Best-selling Cathy Cassidy weaves the classic story of The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland into this no holds-barred contemporary story of bullying and its impact. Alice accepts an invitation to Savvy’s sleepover because she hopes it might be a genuine offer of friendship. Two years into secondary school, Alice has been isolated and bullied by her former friends who are now part of Savvy’s gang. But Alice soon finds that things are about to get worse! Alice’s accident takes her into a wonderland of her own. How will she get out of it? ~ Julia Eccleshare One of our Books of the Year 2015 Download a letter from Cathy Cassidy to her readers about The Looking-Glass Girl.
Fortune Cookie is a typically sweet, soulful story from the excellent Cathy Cassidy. There’s a surprise in store for the Tanberry sisters. Staying with their father in Australia, Honey discovered the existence of a half-brother they never knew they had. Impulsive as always, she wrote to the boy, and invited him to come and stay. Jake, nickname Cookie, is in trouble at home and uses the train ticket she sent to escape his problems. We see all the sisters through his eyes, and his presence helps bring about a reconciliation between Honey and Cherry at last. There’s a definite fairy tale ending to the series and the girls – happier, more tolerant, easier in themselves – deserve it. It will warm readers’ hearts. ~ Andrea Reece ***And all Cathy fans will love The Chocolate Box Secrets. It's a delicious scrapbook of fun, creative ideas from the Chocolate Box Girls. Make your own vintage style top or try some of the recipes and there are some cool ideas to make your sleepovers really fun!
December 2015 Book of the Month Cathy Cassidy writes brilliantly observed stories of contemporary teenage life, and the characters in her Chocolate Box Girls series are hugely popular with young readers. Though the series ended with Fortune Cookie, this special collection brings together six satisfying stories about the girls and their extended family, mostly written from the viewpoint of one of the minor characters. There’s a typical Cassidy mix of romance, jealousy and friendship to be enjoyed, and some extra insight to be had into the characters of the girls. Fans of the series will gobble it up, and it will probably send them back to the original books with even more enthusiasm. ~ Andrea Reece ***And all Cathy fans will love The Chocolate Box Secrets. It's a delicious scrapbook of fun, creative ideas from the Chocolate Box Girls. Make your own vintage style top or try some of the recipes and there are some cool ideas to make your sleepovers really fun!
June 2015 Book of the Month Fortune Cookie is a typically sweet, soulful story from the excellent Cathy Cassidy. There’s a surprise in store for the Tanberry sisters. Staying with their father in Australia, Honey discovered the existence of a half-brother they never knew they had. Impulsive as always, she wrote to the boy, and invited him to come and stay. Jake, nickname Cookie, is in trouble at home and uses the train ticket she sent to escape his problems. We see all the sisters through his eyes, and his presence helps bring about a reconciliation between Honey and Cherry at last. There’s a definite fairy tale ending to the series and the girls – happier, more tolerant, easier in themselves – deserve it. It will warm readers’ hearts. ~ Andrea Reece ***And all Cathy fans will love The Chocolate Box Secrets. It's a delicious scrapbook of fun, creative ideas from the Chocolate Box Girls. Make your own vintage style top or try some of the recipes and there are some cool ideas to make your sleepovers really fun!
Young readers who love Cathy Cassidy’s Chocolate Box Girls series will devour this too! The five Tanberry-Costello sisters are super-creative, that’s part of the fun of the series, and this book encourages readers to do some of the crafty, imaginative activities that they do, such as creating vintage outfits, hosting a chocolate themed sleepover, and writing your own stories. The recipes and instructions all presented in an encouraging and friendly way, as though written by the characters themselves. This is just the book to make the summer holidays fly by, and then there are special activities for the autumn, winter and New Year too. A book to spread a little happiness! ~ Andrea Reece
One of our Books of the Year 2014 - One of the Lovereading4kids Readers' Choice Books of the Year 2014 Cathy Cassidy’s Chocolate Box Girls are growing up and learning to deal with new problems. Fifteen year old Honey flies off to live with her dad in Australia. After all her troubles at home, Honey is determined to make a new start. She’s thrilled to meet her dad at the airport and impressed by the fancy house he lives in with his partner Emma. Honey starts a new school and even makes new friends. Is this all going to be better than her life before? Disaster strikes Honey when she makes a bad mistake about an online friend. Soon someone is spreading terrible things about her all over the internet. Does she really know who Riley is? And at home, she soon realises that her father is not quite the good guy she had imagined; she learns a dangerous secret about him which she will not let go lightly. Honey returns to Tanglewood wiser and more experienced. ***STOP PRESS*** Cathy Cassidy has written a new ebook short story, this time from Finch's perspective. It's Halloween and Finch is returning to Tanglewood - Skye can't wait to see him. But Finch has a secret - will he find the courage to do the right thing? You can find an extract here.
One of our Books of the Year 2014 - One of the Lovereading4kids Readers' Choice Books of the Year 2014 | Cathy Cassidy’s Chocolate Box Girls are growing up and learning to deal with new problems. Fifteen year old Honey flies off to live with her dad in Australia. After all her troubles at home, Honey is determined to make a new start. She’s thrilled to meet her dad at the airport and impressed by the fancy house he lives in with his partner Emma. Honey starts a new school and even makes new friends. Is this all going to be better than her life before? Disaster strikes Honey when she makes a bad mistake about an online friend. Soon someone is spreading terrible things about her all over the internet. Does she really know who Riley is? And at home, she soon realises that her father is not quite the good guy she had imagined; she learns a dangerous secret about him which she will not let go lightly. Honey returns to Tanglewood wiser and more experienced.
