Brilliant from start to finish with a great story line. The characters are intriguing, funny, serious and emotional all in one. The author will capture your imagination from page one with her vivid descriptions that make you feel you are walking along side the characters. A great read which will leave you wanting more.

Quick and quite interesting read. Irene's struggles with home life, love life and tragedy that she endured were very well written. Amazing that a teenager would have the wisdom that she had and how she handled her life and obstacles. Enjoyed the book, it is a good read. This review is my opinion, I received as a complimentary issue from Net Galley. thank you!

The Palo Alto Diaries is a story about Irene a young high school girls love life and based on true events. Irene falls in love with a successful lawyer and suddenly finds herself in an extravagant lifestyle. When things end, she catapults herself into another relationship. There are many highs and lows and she lives a big life in such a short time span.

I was a bit mind-blown by how many times Irene was engaged and what a whirlwind of romances she had had. Some of it seemed a bit far fetched even though it is based on true events. The story itself was readable and I did find myself wanting to continue reading to find out what had happened. Worth a read.

My Rating: 📘📘📘

5 Stars
Tender Coming of Age Love Story
This is a true, clean and tender story of a young California woman coming of age. It is a wonderful memoir dealing with love and betrayal, goals and disappointment. I grew up in the same time period and can relate to all of it. I am off to read Part II! I received this book for free and this is my honest review.

The novel tells the story of Irene, a young Mexican woman, coming into her own. Irene meets a few men who give her a taste of the lavish things in life. When she leaves one man she seems to quickly jump to the next, but it seems each relationship comes with a lesson; as she experiences heartache, unhealthy boundaries, and tragedy within these relationships. I did find it hard to believe that her parents were as naive about Irene's whereabouts as portrayed throughout the novel.

I found the writing style to be a bit jumpy, but Irene's character kept me reading. The fact that The Palo Alto Diaries is based on true events makes the novel all the more interesting; and if one person lived through all of the experiences in the novel in 5ish years they lived one hell of a life and I'm a bit envious! Overall this was a quick Summer read.

I found this book to be an interesting read that was filled with love, loss and life! Loved that is was based on true events and was overall uplifting to read!

I guess the best part is that factor that's it's all real, no matter how crazy it sounds in places. Enjoyable read. I wouldn't call it unputdownable exactly, but then again - so isn't the life itself.

I enjoyed this book. I like how it’s based on actual events. I did find it choppy at times. Overall it would be a good quick summer read.

Irene is a middle to low middle class young woman still in high school. She meets a few men who apparently lavish her with gifts and trips. Her parents are unaware of these things. Irene is nieve and looking for,... well she does not really know what she wants. Long story short, she breaks up with the first guy and moves onto the second, all while being a good girl and somehow preventing her parents from getting a clue.
The character kept me reading, but the writing and story are jumpy. One page has everything over described...the next has little explanation or lead into the change in venue or topic.
I won’t share much more. The book is fair. The plot starts pretty well....kind of meanders after the first boyfriend. Some places seem as if the author needed to wrap things up or meet a word count...so he just dropped a paragraph in...
All in all, I would give it a “C”. , good enough for a plain ride or day at the beach.