This photograph is of the Loving Danny window display at the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town, North London in 2006.

I write novels for young adults.

Don’t Ask

Photo by Rick Bronks of Satureyes

My Novels:

I’ve had five novels published, all by Piccadilly Press, with another one due out in 2012. They’ve been translated into several languages, including Spanish, Polish and Norwegian.

My first, Loving Danny, about a girl on her gap year, who falls in love with a troubled musician, was shortlisted for the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award 2007 (and is also part of an anthology, called Shades of Love (Jan 2010)).

My second, Don’t Ask, tells the tale of a girl who invents a new internet identity in order to obtain information about her boyfriend. It came out in March 2009.

Lifted (July 2010) is the story of a compulsive shoplifter who finds fame through her blog.

The Celeb Next Door (February 2011) is the first in a series called Camden Town Tales, about the adventures of a group of friends who live in Camden Town, London. This story concerns Rosie, who finds her life turned upside down when a celebrity moves in next door.

Stuck On Me (Jan 2012) is the second book in the series and tells the story of Sky, who is obsessed with her nose and her search for her absent dad.

My books cover issues including relationships, self-harm, friendship, shoplifting, social networking and celebrity culture.

They’re all available on Amazon and at most good bookshops. My readers are mostly teenage girls (12+), but boys - and several grown-ups - have admitted to enjoying them too.

What reviewers have said about my books:

Loving Danny:

Simon Lederman, Presenter, BBC Radio London

“This is a great read and gave me a unique insight into the mind of the modern teenager.”

Sunday Express Newspaper, August 27, 2006

...the perfect choice for teenage girls (and their mums). Warm and witty, compelling and insightful, it's a great read.

Don’t Ask:

A Daily Express Paperback Pick of the Week (April 2009)

Chicklish (www.chicklish.co.uk)

“I found this book completely riveting from start to finish. Lily is a lively and fun character and there was plenty of humour in this book, alongside the slightly darker storyline... On the surface it's a story about secrets, trust and pretence, but it also takes a good look at identity: how we see ourselves, the way that someone's opinion of us can change our behaviour, and whether it makes sense to look for perfection in other people. Thoroughly recommended!”

‘The characters are believable and the narrative is pacy  . . . 

a good read.’ SCHOOL LIBRARIAN

‘A really good read . . . funny, yet realistic and had a

good moral.’ TEEN TITLES

Lifted:

'Ruby, the silly but likeable antiheroine of Hilary Freeman's perceptive and fast-paced Lifted comes from a more recognisable contemporary teen world, where insecurity and boredom are the sources of most ills. Displaying the common sense and warped desire for fame of a Big Brother evictee, Ruby creates a blog to publicise her serial shoplifting in the persona of Robyn Hood, who donates stolen goods to charity shops. If parents are anxious about the shoplifting tips, rest assured that this is a truly cautionary tale.'

The Observer,  August 2010

"The chatty, easy-to-read style and the unusual plot hooked me from the first page. Ruby's home life and her relationships with family and friends are well drawn and utterly believable ... I enjoyed the dark-edged but sweet romance in the book, and although there's a sense of impending doom throughout, the storyline always kept me guessing. ... Lifted is a compelling, original and thought-provoking novel." --

Chicklish, August 2010

"Hilary Freeman is a genuinely amazing author, almost uniquely able to be both gritty and frothy at the same time. Lifted is delightfully written and beautifully plotted and, in Ruby, has a great central character. The shoplifting scenes are incredibly vivid ... Heartily recommended." -- Anthony McGowan, author, September 2010

“This contemporary story evolves from a study of teenage relationships to a serious satire of consumerism, celebrity and the power of the internet, with more than a dash of Ealing comedy.... Freeman provides a recognisable background of family life and the process of growing up in this well written and enthralling tale about a girl worried about being ‘average’... this is a gem of a novel which should appeal to mature readers of all ages.”

Books for Keeps, Winter 2010/2011

Camden Town Tales: The Celeb Next Door:

'...fresh, funny and very readable, with a pretty cover too.'

The Bookseller, November 2010, Children’s Previews for Feb 2011

‘Hilary Freeman's latest novel is the start of a series set in Camden, with characters so realistic you feel you might bump into them at Camden Town tube! The setting is wonderfully described, including details of market purchases, events at Koko, the view from Primrose Hill and even a visit to Marine Ices that made me cheer.

Rosie, Sky and Vix are great characters whose friendship is tested by their differing attitudes to relationships - and to fame... Camden comes to life on the page in this engaging and fun story of friendship and celebrities. I can't wait for the next instalment!’

Luisa, Chicklish, Feb 2011

‘In her author’s acknowledgements in this bright, gossipy novel about three 14-year-old girls, Hilary Freeman pays homage to the star of the story, Camden Town: ‘If you didn’t exist, I’d have to invent you.’ The book, and the series which is planned to follow, will have teenage girls desperate to experience ‘the excitement, noise and colour’ of Camden, its market and its bohemian atmosphere... The series should prove to be very popular with young readers, particularly girls, from the age of 10 up.’

Books For Keeps, no. 188

Lifted

My characters have lives of their own.

Danny from Loving Danny has a band website: www.thewonderfulls.co.uk where you can hear a song from the book. He also has a myspace page: www.myspace.com/wonderfulls

You can join topfriendz, the social networking site featured in Don’t Ask at: www.topfriendz.com