Georgia Nicolson has a rough life, mate. She’s put upon by her self-absorbed friends, the thoughtless lads trying to get a piece of her, her dictatorial teachers, her insufferably awkward father, her busy, madcap mother (who may be having an affair with the decorator, Jem), her as-yet-not-housebroken little sister Libby, her half-wild, massive cat Angus, her expanding nose, Mr. and Mrs. Next Door who despise both her and Angus, and her karma, which seems determined to keep her from landing the local “sex god” Robbie as her boyfriend. Her diary entries lend the reader insight into all the tragedies and triumphs that make up Georgia’s life, never mind that sometimes she write her entries in, apparently, a split second between action-filled scenes. The inconsistency between actual diary entries and Rennison’s fictional account of the life of one 14-year-old English girl may drive some readers slightly mad, but they are otherwise an often amusing snapshot into the struggle that is adolescence.
Most teenage readers (yes, mostly girls) will appreciate Georgia’s bravery and enthusiasm for delving into the world of dating. Some may even enjoy her irreverent sense of humor and her wonky priorities (no doubt an intentional move by Rennison to hold a mirror up to the absurdities often espoused by younger generations). However, some readers may be put off by Georgia’s dramatic homophobia toward lesbians (gay men are not mentioned in this episode), her callous treatment of her family members, her sometimes willful dishonesty, her disrespectful actions toward her teachers, and her single-minded drive to pair-bond with a boy, no matter what the consequences may be. Her “stalking” of a fellow classmate is also an unpleasant chapter in the book and brings to mind the dire situations that have evolved over the years as a result of such profiling and bullying by teenagers. At times, I found myself laughing at Georgia’s escapades and turns of phrase (multi-lingual swearing is one of her favorite writing techniques in her diary, it seems). Mostly, though, I tired swiftly of her self-absorption and shallowness. She proves herself to be a better person than her id would wish her to be but I am disinclined to continue with the series unless she grows up considerably over the next nine books and develops some depth of character.
High Plains Librarian 