Freckles
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- Create Date：2021-08-18 12:16:05
- Update Date：2025-09-24
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- Author：Cecelia Ahern
- ISBN：0008194920
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Ashima Jain
，
“I inherited my mam’s skin tone but I inherited Pops’ freckles。 The parent who wanted me。 Unlike Mam， who gave me up to have everything， he gave up everything to have me。 These freckles are the invisible blue ink-line， the permanent scar that connects me to him， dot to dot， star to star， freckle to freckle。 Link them and you link us on and on and on and on。”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， “I inherited my mam’s skin tone but I inherited Pops’ freckles。 The parent who wanted me。 Unlike Mam， who gave me up to have everything， he gave up everything to have me。 These freckles are the invisible blue ink-line， the permanent scar that connects me to him， dot to dot， star to star， freckle to freckle。 Link them and you link us on and on and on and on。”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， leading 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。。。The book opens with the story behind her nickname and her longing to connect with her skin。 It takes a while before the book gets your attention。 For me， it probably didn’t help that there were no speech marks， making a bit of a mess with the tenses and character voices。 I think I began to look past it once Allegra’s pursuit of identifying her five people took steam。It was this premise that eventually got me invested in Allegra’s story。 It prompted me to think of my five people and how they have made me who I am。 At a time when I am determined to cut away all toxic relationships， Freckles is a bittersweet affirmation of discovering the right people in your life。This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and HarperCollins UK。 。。。more
Maddy Cordell
，
Allegra Bird grew up on an island off the coast of Ireland with her 'Pops'。 As much as she loved her father she desperately wanted to find her mother who had left her at birth， and forge a relationship。Allegra was called Freckles due to the sheer number on her skin， and whilst at Boarding School she self harms， turning some of her freckles into a constellation of scars。In a bid to meet her mother， Allegra moves to a town near Dublin and becomes a traffic warden， and lives in a room above a gym， Allegra Bird grew up on an island off the coast of Ireland with her 'Pops'。 As much as she loved her father she desperately wanted to find her mother who had left her at birth， and forge a relationship。Allegra was called Freckles due to the sheer number on her skin， and whilst at Boarding School she self harms， turning some of her freckles into a constellation of scars。In a bid to meet her mother， Allegra moves to a town near Dublin and becomes a traffic warden， and lives in a room above a gym， in a house annex， in return for a modest rent and babysitting。 When Allegra finds herself ticketing the same yellow Ferrari every day， she becomes annoyed with its owner， and he becomes furious with her， telling her that each person is the average of the five people they spend the most time with， and that her 5 must be a great dissapointment。 Allegra takes this to heart and tries to cultivate new people in her life， and writes to some very inspiring women。Unfortunately Allegra is somewhat ASD and finds it difficult to read people and their feelings， and things get very muddled。 For me the whole thing comes together so beautifully at the end， and things resolve themselves - though not in the way Allegra had planned。 My only negative comment is the lack of speech marks， which occasionally makes understanding what she is saying and what she is thinking， a little confused。All in all I enjoyed the book， and I do look forward to reading the next Cecelia Ahern novel。 。。。more
Angie
，
Freckles aka Allegra Bird， is a character akin to Eleanor Oliphant; quirky and somewhat insecure she manages to work her way into your heart。Allegra is on a mission， she has moved to Dublin and taken up a job as a parking warden。 As the story progresses we learn why she is there and what she is trying to achieve。 One day she encounters a difficult customer who tells her you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with。 This throws Allegra into a spin as she tries to work out who Freckles aka Allegra Bird， is a character akin to Eleanor Oliphant; quirky and somewhat insecure she manages to work her way into your heart。Allegra is on a mission， she has moved to Dublin and taken up a job as a parking warden。 As the story progresses we learn why she is there and what she is trying to achieve。 One day she encounters a difficult customer who tells her you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with。 This throws Allegra into a spin as she tries to work out who her 5 are。 As ever Ahern creates an emotional ride of a book where you are fully invested in the characters。 Allegra made me laugh and cry as she tried in her oddball way to build a new 5 around her。 A book about love， friendship， insecurity， faith and hope。 。。。more
Ritu Bhathal
，
Freckles。 The cover and the blurb enticed me to read。A woman， who is floundering in life uses a phrase uttered to her in a moment of annoyance， to shape the rest of her life。You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with。Who are those five people， and how have they shaped her？Are they the same five people throughout her life， or do they change？Allegra Bird is a complex character。 She shows shades of autism throughout the book。I have to admit that， initially， I found it quite Freckles。 The cover and the blurb enticed me to read。A woman， who is floundering in life uses a phrase uttered to her in a moment of annoyance， to shape the rest of her life。You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with。Who are those five people， and how have they shaped her？Are they the same five people throughout her life， or do they change？Allegra Bird is a complex character。 She shows shades of autism throughout the book。I have to admit that， initially， I found it quite hard to get into， as there were no speech marks throughout the book， and sometimes I was mixing speech for thought， etc， but it added to the confusion in the mind of our main character。But， once I was in， I was IN， if you know what I mean。 I was making my own list of five for Allegra， throughout the book， and am so glad I got it right， in the end！There were hints of a possible romance， but the essence of the story wasn't muddied by that。 Instead， we were given a hopeful ending。I felt for the young girl， discarded by her mother， who wanted to know more。 A woman who wanted to help others， but didn't often get it quite right。 Someone who was frequently misunderstood。As I mentioned before， it took a little while to get into， but I did enjoy the journey through Allegra's quest to pinpoint her five。Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Theresa Smith
，
Review to come。。。
Janelle
，
It took me a little while to get into this book， all the early events seemed pretty random and I wondered what the point was。 Allegra Bird is a young woman working as a parking officer in Dublin。 Her home is Valentia Island in Kerry where her father， Pops lives。 She has never known her mother and seems to have few close friends。 Then one day when she’s giving a Ferrari owner yet another ticket， he tells her that “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” so the people It took me a little while to get into this book， all the early events seemed pretty random and I wondered what the point was。 Allegra Bird is a young woman working as a parking officer in Dublin。 Her home is Valentia Island in Kerry where her father， Pops lives。 She has never known her mother and seems to have few close friends。 Then one day when she’s giving a Ferrari owner yet another ticket， he tells her that “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” so the people she spends her time with must be losers。 For some reason this insult really gets to her and she wonders about it constantly。 What follows is an interesting journey for Allegra as she finds out more about herself and life in general。 The story is told in first person and Allegra’s voice is original and authentic。 In the end I enjoyed this book， some moments made me laugh out loud and the ending is satisfying and “feel good”。 。。。more
Bev
，
I usually emotionally connect well with the characters in Ahern’s books but sadly although I enjoyed Freckles I wasn’t as drawn to main protagonist Allegra。 I definitely struggled with having no speech marks and I felt that Allegra comparing her life at one point to the refugee who was found washed up on the beach was in poor taste。 Interesting concept， about the five people we most often interact with having such a large impact on one but not one of my favourite stories by this author。
Clare Didcock
，
I am a huge fan of Cecilia Ahern and was so pleased to be allowed to read this book。 As usual she is the master of story telling and you get to know the characters very well。 I did find this dragged slightly and all seemed to happen towards the end of the book， but nevertheless it was a lovely read as I knew it would be。 #Freckles#NetGalley
Jenny C
，
An absolute 5 star delight of a book！ This is such a heartfelt， uplifting story from Ahern， and I finished it with a smile on my face。 Allegra， our main character， is definitely one who grows on you as the story unfolds。 She is a parking warden on an emotional journey who is trying to learn who she really is and where her place in the world is。 I loved her dedication to the job， and had quite a few laugh out loud moments as she defended the streets of Malahide against parking infractions。 I also An absolute 5 star delight of a book！ This is such a heartfelt， uplifting story from Ahern， and I finished it with a smile on my face。 Allegra， our main character， is definitely one who grows on you as the story unfolds。 She is a parking warden on an emotional journey who is trying to learn who she really is and where her place in the world is。 I loved her dedication to the job， and had quite a few laugh out loud moments as she defended the streets of Malahide against parking infractions。 I also loved watching her emotional connections with others and herself growing as she considers who her ‘5 people’ are。 The ending was wonderful too。 I really recommend this book！ Thanks so much to the author， publishers and NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest， unbiased review 。。。more
Emma L
，
Freckles tells the story of Allegra who takes a journey of self discovery after being told by a stranger that you are the sun of the five people you spend most time with。 As she feels like a bit of an outsider， she isn’t quite sure who those people are。 She was raised by her dad and spent a lot of her childhood at boarding school， but has now moved to Dublin to work as a traffic warden after her dream of joining the police force fell though。 This is essentially a story of connections and relatio Freckles tells the story of Allegra who takes a journey of self discovery after being told by a stranger that you are the sun of the five people you spend most time with。 As she feels like a bit of an outsider， she isn’t quite sure who those people are。 She was raised by her dad and spent a lot of her childhood at boarding school， but has now moved to Dublin to work as a traffic warden after her dream of joining the police force fell though。 This is essentially a story of connections and relationships， but I struggled to find any real connection to Freckles， despite having a lot of them myself。 I’m sure fans of Cecelia Ahern will enjoy this uplifting book。 。。。more
Frances
，
"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with。"When a stranger utters these words to Allegra Bird， aka Freckles， it turns her whole world topsy-turvy。 Freckles doesn't quite fit todays world。 She needs order， rules and routine。 As usual Cecelia Ahern has written a great book。 She gives us an uplifting and often very moving story as we accompany Allegra on her quest to find her 5。 A great read and one I thoroughly recommend。Thanks to Netgalley， the publisher and author for "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with。"When a stranger utters these words to Allegra Bird， aka Freckles， it turns her whole world topsy-turvy。 Freckles doesn't quite fit todays world。 She needs order， rules and routine。 As usual Cecelia Ahern has written a great book。 She gives us an uplifting and often very moving story as we accompany Allegra on her quest to find her 5。 A great read and one I thoroughly recommend。Thanks to Netgalley， the publisher and author for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Colette Brennan
，
Freckles by Cleia Ahern is a lovely book expoloring the parent child relationship within modern families。 It explores the transition between living at home and moving on。 It is a beuatiully written tale of a young woman who decides that the time is now to move on and find her place in the world。 I can highly recommend this book， I couldn't put it down。 Freckles by Cleia Ahern is a lovely book expoloring the parent child relationship within modern families。 It explores the transition between living at home and moving on。 It is a beuatiully written tale of a young woman who decides that the time is now to move on and find her place in the world。 I can highly recommend this book， I couldn't put it down。 。。。more
Helen O'Brien
，
An emotional story set in Ireland， as we follow Freckles as she searches for answers to help her navigate her life。 Allegra （aka Freckles） is living in Dublin as a traffic warden as she seeks answers to her past。 There she meets Tristan （aka Rooster）， a Ferrari driving YouTuber， who is non too happy at the regular parking tickets he receives from her。 Tristan tells her that she is the average of the five people she spends time with and Freckles must work out who those people are in order to make An emotional story set in Ireland， as we follow Freckles as she searches for answers to help her navigate her life。 Allegra （aka Freckles） is living in Dublin as a traffic warden as she seeks answers to her past。 There she meets Tristan （aka Rooster）， a Ferrari driving YouTuber， who is non too happy at the regular parking tickets he receives from her。 Tristan tells her that she is the average of the five people she spends time with and Freckles must work out who those people are in order to make sense of her world。 Beautifully written， but at times I did not feel a lot of empathy for the central character， I don’t know why that it is。 It’s a good read though and I would recommend。 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Laura Stevenson
，
I really enjoyed Freckles and it had a feel of the classic Cecelia Ahern style of writing。 Parking warden， Allegra Bird （aka Freckles）， leads a very predictable and routine life。 Never really venturing out of her comfort zone， despite a move from the country to city life in Dublin， she finds that change really does not suit her well。 Her world is turned on its axis when she has an angry encounter with the owner of an illegally parked car who tells her that 'you are the average of the 5 people yo I really enjoyed Freckles and it had a feel of the classic Cecelia Ahern style of writing。 Parking warden， Allegra Bird （aka Freckles）， leads a very predictable and routine life。 Never really venturing out of her comfort zone， despite a move from the country to city life in Dublin， she finds that change really does not suit her well。 Her world is turned on its axis when she has an angry encounter with the owner of an illegally parked car who tells her that 'you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with'。 Suddenly Allegra realises just how lonely her life is and that finding those 5 people is a challenge in itself。 As Allegra delves onto a path of self discovery we start to learn about Allegra's life and the real reasons why she moved to Malahide as well as seeing her deal with her father's ill mental health。 At times this story was completely heartbreaking。 The loneliness that Allegra felt was really evident and spoke to me。 It was also very clear that Allegra had some deeper issues herself that really need addressed。 I feel that this is one of the best Cecelia Ahern books in a while。 I would 100% recommend and cannot wait to buy a physical copy to add to my collection。 。。。more
Andrew
，
This was my first book by Cecilia Ahern， but based on this book it will definitely be the first of many。 I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling in this book， which was very well structured with some great characters and great scenes。Allegra Bird lives in Dublin， having moved there to try to find， and get to know， her mother who abandoned her as a baby。 She is a traffic warden and in an argument when giving Tristan a ticket was told you are the average of the five people you spend the most time wi This was my first book by Cecilia Ahern， but based on this book it will definitely be the first of many。 I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling in this book， which was very well structured with some great characters and great scenes。Allegra Bird lives in Dublin， having moved there to try to find， and get to know， her mother who abandoned her as a baby。 She is a traffic warden and in an argument when giving Tristan a ticket was told you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with。This sets Allegra off on a journey to find out who those five people are and to shape her list to help improve herself。 She is a great character and you enjoy spending time with her as she goes on this journey， which involves laughter， embarrassment， tears and a discovery about who she is and what she wants out of life。 There was a great ending to this excellent book， which I thoroughly recommend。Thanks to NetGalley， the author and the publishers for providing a copy of this book for me， for an an open and honest review。 。。。more
Emma James
，
Five people。 Five stars。 Freckle to freckle。 Star to star。" Allegra Bird has left home， leaving behind an eccentric father， childhood friends and the small town life she knows to move to the big city。 In Dublin， she finds her extremely structured life impacted by an encounter that makes her question who she is， and how the people around her in her life have shaped her。 Allegra has some qualities thst could render her unlikeable but I found myself routing for this traffic warden who favours order Five people。 Five stars。 Freckle to freckle。 Star to star。" Allegra Bird has left home， leaving behind an eccentric father， childhood friends and the small town life she knows to move to the big city。 In Dublin， she finds her extremely structured life impacted by an encounter that makes her question who she is， and how the people around her in her life have shaped her。 Allegra has some qualities thst could render her unlikeable but I found myself routing for this traffic warden who favours order and always tries so hard to get things right。 Confused and searching for answers， she reflects a lot of the anxieties we have in our twenties or when our lives turn out to be slightly different to what we expected。 She goes about her days introducing us to a range of characters that really do show that sometimes the pictures we have in our head will never live up to reality。 And what's in our hearts is usually what wins out overall。 This is the first Cecelia Ahern book thst I have read in years and it was an enjoyable read。 I felt like some of the plot points were delicious slow burns thst all got tied up very quickly at the end， which was slightly disappointing。 There was some incidents that I would have liked more details on but overall an overall comforting and fun read。Thanks for Netgalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Fleur Pryor
，
I have always loved Cecilia Ahern books & I enjoyed this one。 Saying that I wasn’t excited about it。 I do like the ending， but wanted more of that feeling though out the book。 I must say I love the 5 people part。 Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this advanced copy。
Lisa Overend
，
*Mild spoilers* I've been reading Cecilia Ahern for as long as I can remember， you can guarantee they're books that will leave you uplifted and happy。 Freckles didn't disappoint， but it was， for want of a better word， different to how I expected it to be。 I found it really hard to connect with the protagonist， Allegra， who makes some frustrating choices throughout the story。 The first 75% of the book felt disjointed without a proper story arc。 I personally feel this was intentional from Ahern， A *Mild spoilers* I've been reading Cecilia Ahern for as long as I can remember， you can guarantee they're books that will leave you uplifted and happy。 Freckles didn't disappoint， but it was， for want of a better word， different to how I expected it to be。 I found it really hard to connect with the protagonist， Allegra， who makes some frustrating choices throughout the story。 The first 75% of the book felt disjointed without a proper story arc。 I personally feel this was intentional from Ahern， Allegra sees her life as a series of inconsequential events happening around her while she's waiting to achieve a specific goal。 Toward the end of the book， she begins to realise that she already had everything and everyone she needs， albeit it not in the form she expected。 The ending also came close to missing the mark for me， it felt very much like a coincidence that everything in Allegra's life came together rather than it being on the back of her self improvement and reflection。 However， it still left me with the tell tale Ahern 'warm and fuzzes' so I wasn't disappointed。 Overall， it was a really enjoyable read about love， loneliness， family and human connection。 A huge thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy in return for my honest review 。。。more
Melissa
，
I loved the concept of this story ‘you are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with’…。I found this idea so intriguing and it has got me wondering about my five people。 However this book just felt flat to me， and I’m sorry to say was a real disappointment。Thank you to NetGalley， the publisher and author for the advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review。
Emma
，
You are the average of the five people you spend the most of your time with。 Allegra Bird， was told those words from an angry stranger and those words turned into an earworm。 She could not get those words out of her head as she took them to heart leading her to try and find herself and her five people who can help shape her life。 She was brought up by her eccentric musical Irish father on an island on the West Coast of Ireland after being abandoned by her Catalonian mother， however， the only thi You are the average of the five people you spend the most of your time with。 Allegra Bird， was told those words from an angry stranger and those words turned into an earworm。 She could not get those words out of her head as she took them to heart leading her to try and find herself and her five people who can help shape her life。 She was brought up by her eccentric musical Irish father on an island on the West Coast of Ireland after being abandoned by her Catalonian mother， however， the only thing that really identified her as belonging to her father was her freckles。 These freckles shaped her childhood as she would draw the constellations by joining up the dots in search of connections and now that she is an adult， she is once again searching for connections as she begins her journey seeking her mother。 Since the age of 5， she was subjected to the regimental routine of boarding school， and this shaped exactly who she is now。 Allegra needs routine， she has to abide by the law， especially having wanted to join the Guarda since a young age， however， she is now a parking warden。 This is a hard review for me to write as I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews but I really disliked Allegra。 She is rude and judgemental thus making it really difficult for me to feel sorry for her and her sad lonely life。 I had high hopes that I would change my mind but unfortunately for me， she didn’t grow into a likeable person on her journey to find herself and her five people。 There’s something a bit try-hard about this story too as the whole concept was overthought and the characters I met on the way were cliched。 It started off intriguing but then nothing really happened and this left me disappointed。 I’m sorry to say， it's just not a book for me。 。。。more
Julie Harris
，
To be honest， when I started this book， I struggled to begin with。 I found the writing hard， no speech marks for the conversation， who knew these were so important haha！ But there was something about Freckles， that made me keep on reading and boy， am I glad I did！Allegra， or Freckles as she is sometimes known as， is a girl that seems to be a square peg in a round hole。 She is trying to find her way， after moving to Dublin from a remote area in Ireland。 She is a parking warden and after a particu To be honest， when I started this book， I struggled to begin with。 I found the writing hard， no speech marks for the conversation， who knew these were so important haha！ But there was something about Freckles， that made me keep on reading and boy， am I glad I did！Allegra， or Freckles as she is sometimes known as， is a girl that seems to be a square peg in a round hole。 She is trying to find her way， after moving to Dublin from a remote area in Ireland。 She is a parking warden and after a particularly difficult confrontation， she is told you are the average of the 5 people that you spend most of your time with。 From this， Allegra realises she doesn't know who her 5 people are。 This leads to a journey of self discovery and a bumpy path to try and find her 5。Freckles is an emotional read and at the start， I found it difficult to bond with the character， however， before you know it， she gets under your skin。 You are willing her on to find people in her life that will treat her well。 She is misunderstood by so many around her but you feel like you know the true Freckles。 At the end， I sat there with tears in my eyes， wow， that's not an easy feat with me， I'm not a crier。Please give this book a go， keep on reading and find out about the true person behind the nickname。 I am sat here now thinking about Allegra and that shows what an amazing book this is！ 。。。more
Marian
，
I usually love Cecilia Ahern's stories but this one missed the mark for me。 I have to say this book took me quite a while to get into and therefore I never quite felt the love for it that I had expected。 Having said that it's a nice story， heartwarming if a little sad。 There are some lovely moments in the story but they seemed few and far between，I never particularly gelled with the lead character， Allegra， but I did have a lot of sympathy for her。 There were some truly horrible characters and I usually love Cecilia Ahern's stories but this one missed the mark for me。 I have to say this book took me quite a while to get into and therefore I never quite felt the love for it that I had expected。 Having said that it's a nice story， heartwarming if a little sad。 There are some lovely moments in the story but they seemed few and far between，I never particularly gelled with the lead character， Allegra， but I did have a lot of sympathy for her。 There were some truly horrible characters and some more loveable ones too， which added to the story。Overall， this was an okay read for me。 I found the lack of speech marks made reading the book quite hard going and I do hope this is only because I read a pre-publication copy， otherwise I don't think this works and it definitely detracts from the flow of reading。 I think this will be a very "marmite" book， people will either love it or hate it。 。。。more
Akcherrybomb
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Loved the underlining theme of this story 'you are the sum of the 5 main people you spend your time with' which really got me thinking and I liked that。 It kind of delved into that around the central character of Freckles （Allegra）。 She is someone who feels she doesn't quite fit， doesn't have their life together and goes in search of herself in a way。 A bit like a coming of age story but as an adult。 I think that is quite relatable to many。 Loved the underlining theme of this story 'you are the sum of the 5 main people you spend your time with' which really got me thinking and I liked that。 It kind of delved into that around the central character of Freckles （Allegra）。 She is someone who feels she doesn't quite fit， doesn't have their life together and goes in search of herself in a way。 A bit like a coming of age story but as an adult。 I think that is quite relatable to many。 。。。more
Tredaran
，
A charming book about friendship and understanding the people and events that shape you。 The heroine， Allegra Bird， aka Freckles， is a parking warden。 A stranger at the receiving end of one of her parking tickets remarks to her one day that she is the average of the five people you have spent most time with and sends her in a journey of discovery to explore who has had the most influence on her life and have shaped her into who she is。 Completely blind to the obvious characters who shape her dai A charming book about friendship and understanding the people and events that shape you。 The heroine， Allegra Bird， aka Freckles， is a parking warden。 A stranger at the receiving end of one of her parking tickets remarks to her one day that she is the average of the five people you have spent most time with and sends her in a journey of discovery to explore who has had the most influence on her life and have shaped her into who she is。 Completely blind to the obvious characters who shape her daily routines， she tries to reach out to the people she wants to be among the five rather than the actual five。 With mishaps and misunderstandings along the way， this is an entertaining and original story which is enjoyable to read。 。。。more
Gem ~ Bee
，
Allegra Bird is a traffic warden， who relishes the rules and routine of her job and daily life。 Though used to abuse from this she's affected by an encounter with someone when they lash out at her with "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"。 This triggers a complete jolt off axis for Allegra's thoughts and subsequently her life changes as she contemplates who her 5 are， and who they could be。 Allegra is a unique and special character， her thoughts and humour are of Allegra Bird is a traffic warden， who relishes the rules and routine of her job and daily life。 Though used to abuse from this she's affected by an encounter with someone when they lash out at her with "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"。 This triggers a complete jolt off axis for Allegra's thoughts and subsequently her life changes as she contemplates who her 5 are， and who they could be。 Allegra is a unique and special character， her thoughts and humour are off the wall but I loved that about her。 I did find some of the events quite unusual and I don't know what they contributed to the story but that's my perspective。 It felt slow moving to the point where halfway through I didn't think I was enjoying it at all but ultimately the emotional build up and foundations of the characters drew together a compelling finish that I truly loved。 。。。more
Mrs。 I。
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Just three words really - loved this book！！I have never read a Cecelia Ahearne novel before but I would glad;y read another。 It is a real page turner。
Jessica
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Australia for the eARC in exchange for an honest review。Allegra Bird， nicknamed Freckles， thrives on routine and is often left confused human behaviors and interactions。 After someone angrily tells her that she is a loser because she surrounds herself with losers （"you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"）， she sets out to discover her "five" and believes they will put her on a path of empowerment， happiness， and self-improvement。 Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Australia for the eARC in exchange for an honest review。Allegra Bird， nicknamed Freckles， thrives on routine and is often left confused human behaviors and interactions。 After someone angrily tells her that she is a loser because she surrounds herself with losers （"you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"）， she sets out to discover her "five" and believes they will put her on a path of empowerment， happiness， and self-improvement。There was such emphasis on her "constellation" in the early part of the book， that I was surprised at how little importance it was given throughout the rest of the story， other than what felt like a haphazard mention。 Another （very minor！） dislike was how disorganized， or maybe elusive， Allegra was about Ruth Brasil's visit。 Given how methodical she was about everything， I was surprised Allegra wasn't constantly following-up with Ruth's office until the visit was 100% confirmed。I liked the flashbacks to Allegra's boarding school days， and the miscellaneous village characters she sees on her rounds。 This book has humor， though I did wonder if Allegra was autistic making some of the humor at her expense for not "understanding" those around her。 However， this was a very enjoyable read。 。。。more
Heather
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Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for some honest feedback！ Freckles was such a great read。 I thought the main character， Allegra， was really interesting and I found her very intriguing。 The setting was great and the author really provided a great description of where everything was happening and the contrast between Dublin and Valentia Island。 The book features a diverse group of characters that really add to the journey Allegra goes on in this book。 For me， Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for some honest feedback！ Freckles was such a great read。 I thought the main character， Allegra， was really interesting and I found her very intriguing。 The setting was great and the author really provided a great description of where everything was happening and the contrast between Dublin and Valentia Island。 The book features a diverse group of characters that really add to the journey Allegra goes on in this book。 For me， this was a really uplifting read and I really enjoyed it overall。 There was a nice message in the book and some funny moments too。 The pacing was good。 The one downside I had was I struggled with deciphering between dialogue and description or thought at times due to the writing style。A great read and one I would definitely recommend！ 。。。more
Charlotte Freeman
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I found this book a little slow to get into， but once I had， I loved it。 Interesting theory behind the 5 people in your life who influence you。 Would recommend。
Helena
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I have read books by Cecelia Ahern before， and loved most， but this was not one of them。 The writing was choppy， and I didn't care for the characters。 I had a hard time finishing it， but did so， because I loved Ahern's other writing 。 I have read books by Cecelia Ahern before， and loved most， but this was not one of them。 The writing was choppy， and I didn't care for the characters。 I had a hard time finishing it， but did so， because I loved Ahern's other writing 。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Freckles
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Freckles&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Freckles&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0