For those who already know and love Georgia, only one word is necessary: more. For those few who have just returned from Antarctica: here is the third installment in the stream-of-consciousness glimpses into the inner mind of quite conceivably the most self-interested teen in the world. As with the first two novels (Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, 2000; On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God, 2001), Georgia’s own voice, laced with loony British teen-isms, is the raison de read. Rennison consistently displays a near-perfect sense of comic timing and an ear for language that subsumes normal demands for such traditional plot elements as, say, rising and falling action. The plot, such as it is, finds Georgia first stolidly bearing up under the torture of a five-day family holiday in Och-aye Land, where the acme of excitement is hanging out at the 24-hour supermarket with the local boys (known by the collective noun “Jock Mcthick”). Home at last, she turns her attentions to her twin favorite pursuits: makeup and moving up the Snogging Scale with Robbie, the Sex God. This outpouring ends with a real breakthrough in terms of character development: the reader may detect the rudiments of a conscience when Georgia finds herself attracted to both her boyfriend the S.G. and to Dave the Laugh, former red herring and current boyfriend of friend Ellen, when she accidentally snogs him at a dance: “3:05 a.m. Oh God, she is my mate. I am bad bad baddy bad bad. Jesus would never snog his mate’s boyfriend. 3:15 a.m. I will probably never be able to sleep again. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.” Will there be any further, further, further confessions? Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants will be published this summer in tea-and-crumpets agogo land—we can hardly wait. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-623656-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Whether you came for the lore or the love, perfection.
Broken people, complicated families, magic, and Faerie politics: Black’s back.
After the tumultuous ending to the last volume (marriage, exile, and the seeming collapse of all her plots), Jude finds herself in the human world, which lacks appeal despite a childhood spent longing to go back. The price of her upbringing becomes clear: A human raised in the multihued, multiformed, always capricious Faerie High Court by the man who killed her parents, trained for intrigue and combat, recruited to a spy organization, and ultimately the power behind the coup and the latest High King, Jude no longer understands how to exist happily in a world that isn’t full of magic and danger. A plea from her estranged twin sends her secretly back to Faerie, where things immediately come to a boil with Cardan (king, nemesis, love interest) and all the many political strands Jude has tugged on for the past two volumes. New readers will need to go back to The Cruel Prince (2018) to follow the complexities—political and personal side plots abound—but the legions of established fans will love every minute of this lushly described, tightly plotted trilogy closer. Jude might be traumatized and emotionally unhealthy, but she’s an antihero worth cheering on. There are few physical descriptions of humans and some queer representation.
Whether you came for the lore or the love, perfection. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-31042-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
A powerful tale of found family and first love.
After a year away, Ellis returns home to confront her past.
Graduating from high school far from everything familiar was not part of Ellis Truman’s original plans, but she nevertheless ended up spending her senior year with her aunt in California. In Indiana, Ellis practically grew up with the Albrey family and their three tightknit sons, Dixon, Tucker, and Easton. Now, Tucker wants her to return home for matriarch Sandry Albrey’s 50th birthday celebration on the Fourth of July—but Ellis is dreading seeing Easton, as they haven’t talked since she left. Chapters alternate between past and present, and much of the story unravels slowly: How did she come to live with the Albreys? What caused Ellis to then end up in San Diego? What happened in her relationship with Easton? Patient readers will find the heartfelt tension pays off. With her father in and out of jail and an absent mother, socio-economic differences separating Ellis from the middle-class Albreys don’t go unnoticed, and Ellis’ down-to-earth journey shows how she unpacks her feelings about her relationship with her parents. The slow-build romance is swoonworthy, and young adult fans of Colleen Hoover seeking emotional devastation and unforgettable characters will find much to enjoy here. Characters read as White.
A powerful tale of found family and first love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-308853-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
