No. of pages: 321
Rating: 7/10
Synopsis: This is a manual for my daughter Lois. Here are the rules:
1. You must only read each new entry on your birthday, there is one for every year until you are thirty.
2. This is a private manual between you and me.
3. No peeping at the next entry unless it's your birthday!
When Lois Bates is handed the manual, she can barely bring herself to read it as the pain of losing her dad is still so raw. Yet soon his advice is guiding her through every stange of her life - from first love and relationships to her career.
Review: When Lois is 12, she is given a manual that was written for her by her dead father. Inside the manual, her father guides her through life by the way of letters written for her to read on every birthday until she's 30. But while she is clinging to her father and his manual so hard, how will Lois ever learn the lessons he writes about?
This was a comfortable read, something you can just sit back and relax with because it's not very taxing. The story itself is interesting enough, there are a few twists and turns to keep the story flowing, but it's nothing particularly amazing. The plot is along the lines of P.S. I Love You and Things I Want My Daughters To Know, so if you like those books this might be something you'd be interested in, although I wouldn't consider this one to be as good as either of the ones I mentioned. I really disliked where the author tried to be a 'teen' at the beginning, the way she made Lois talk was so stupid and I don't remember talking like that when I was 12, but maybe I'm just old now! I also thought Lois was a rather shallow and selfish character, so I found it hard to become attached to her. Overall, it was an okay book, worth a read but not something I'd read again.
