Review Detail

I first read this book quite a few months ago and even recommended it in a newsletter. How I managed to go for this long without reviewing it is a mystery to me, because this is one of the funniest teen books I've read in recent years.

Georgia, the heroine of this diary-format tale, is a fourteen-year-old Britisher. As every other review out there says (just check, I kid you not), this book follows the style of Helen Fielding's popular Bridget Jones's Diary and the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. It is, however, about a much younger protaganist and infinitely more suitable for teenage readers.

Angus... is also a very apt replacement for this generation of the (also hilarious) The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 ½ by Sue Townsend, which was published at least 15 years ago. Adrian is a 13 year old boy, but some of the humor is the same---very English.

Georgia's antics will often have you laughing out loud. I, being a cat person, especially love the descriptions of her cat Angus. He's quite a bruiser and manages to both endear and repel admirerers:

I had to drag Angus away from Next Door's; he wants to eat that poodle. He has about four cans of petfood a day as it is, if he gets any bigger Mum says she is going to give him to a zoo, as if they would want him.

The adventures in this book will have real meaning for teen girls. Who hasn't tried on perfume or makeup samples without buying them right before a date? Who hasn't worried about the sudden and inevitable flare up of spots (in US speak - pimples)? Who didn't worry that they weren't pretty enough? Thin enough? Right enough?

I especially love this bit, because it is so true: "...you know when you have one of those moments when you know what you have to do? No, well neither do I..."

Georgia is a very real character. She is completely batty, but in the same way that we all are. I highly recommend this book for teenagers. It's definitely targeted towards girls, but boys might get a kick at a look at the other side.