Freckles by Cecilia Ahern
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
When a stranger utters these words to Allegra Bird, nicknamed Freckles, it turns her highly ordered life upside down. In her current life as a parking warden, she has left her eccentric father and unconventional childhood behind for a bold new life in the city.
But a single encounter leads her to ask the question she’s been avoiding for so long:  who are the people who made her the way she is?  And who are the five people who can shape and determine her future? Just as she once joined the freckles on her skin to mirror the constellations in the night sky, she must once again look for connections.
Told in Allegra’s vivid, original voice, moving from Dublin to the fierce Atlantic coast, this is an unforgettable story of human connection, of friendship, and growing into your own skin.
Five people. Five stars. Freckle to freckle. Star to star.
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My Thoughts
In Freckles we are introduced to the complex and unique personality of Allegra Bird, (aka Freckles) . The character is contradictory in so many ways, but still totally believable. She is fragile and vulnerable due to the abandonment by her mother at birth, but works as a traffic warden, diligently handing out parking tickets and taking the wrath of motorists.
She desperately wants to belong and seeks the love of her mother, but despite moving away to be close to her, will she ever get the courage to introduce herself?
She is fascinated by a man who drives a yellow Ferrari and has no respect for the parking regulations outside his place of work. Despite a very rocky start Freckles and Youtuber Rooster strike up a unique friendship. He tells her that ‘you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with’ and this leads Allegra on a journey of self discovery.
The book is told through the voice of Allegra with a strong Irish accent coming through brilliantly. There are no speech marks which could be off putting for some, but didn’t bother me at all.
I like the mix of humour and heartbreak , love and loss, friendship and family. The end is particularly heart warming and the characters are all vividly portrayed.
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of the book which has been reviewed honestly.
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