In Tandem ~ Meet Joel & Cat

Joel & Cat Set the Story Straight
By Nick Earls and Rebecca Sparrow

Rating: 5

“I don't hate you...you're just the most annoying person in my life.” 

Joel hates Cat.
Cat hates Joel.

And frankly, they are quite happy with things being that way. 

That is, until Cat's surprise hayfever attack and Joel's pen-ink disaster end up paving the way for a paired Extension English Assignment. 

Together. 

And to make it that much worse, the task is a tandem story, which means each one of them must submit a paragraph of the story at a time. No discussions. Just working with what the other's imagination has conceived.

But that's ok, right? It's only two weeks...

Yet, in two weeks alot can happen. 

Cat - on top of the hayfever - must deal with a younger brother with a sweet tooth, her father's fake tan, her mother's emotional rollercoaster, her friend Emma's Barbie IQ and the injustice of being paired with Joel. 

Joel - on top of his obvious dislike of Cat - must put a stop to the weirdo dating his mother (who insists he is of Mexican/Spanish heritage but cannot even make decent tacos), fight off the rumours from his friend Luke the pool boy and try to make sure Cat stops killing off his main characters.

But when they find out their parents are considering dating, all fighting halts as they team up to concoct the ultimate plan to return their lives to normal. 

With funny paragraphs of nonsensical writing (about men who parachute with knives, ladies who drink Lady Grey tea and a version of Pride and Prejudice crossed with the XXX factor), sarcastic e-mails, medical research on the symptoms of appendicitis, superheroes, mangoes and elephants on the table, the tale becomes as tantalising as Anna and the French Kiss, hitting the heart and the funny bone.

And yet, the lingering question surfaces - is normal all it's cracked up to be? And could the comradeship between these two rivals become something neither had expected? 

Joel and Cat set the story straight, in this heart-warming novel about not judging the book by its cover.