Summary - There are six things very wrong with my life: 1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years. 2. It is on my nose. 3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room. 4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic 'teachers'. 5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home. 6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive. Read all about Georgia's hilarious antics as she desperately tries to muddle her way through teenage life.
Review - This has been labeled as the 'Bridget Jones for teenagers' and I can certainly see why. I confess to buying this novel upon viewing the movie hence the inclusion of the move tie-in cover. I love the movie to bits, directed by Gurinda Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) it possessed a likeable protagonist, copious amount of brattiness, subsequent mortification and a great soundtrack.
The book, I wasn't feeling as much. Or really anywhere near. Perhaps I should revise the 'book first, movie second' concept again but I feel I am doomed to repeat my mistakes (Marley & Me). Georgia is the fourteen year old, British teen with a crackling voice and a list full of complaints - she's boyfriendless, her cat is mental and her sister needs to learn to wrangle her own nappies. These are all problems I can sympathise with, especially the latter. However, I sometimes feel desperately sad for characters who obsess over possessing a boyfriend even when their desperation is cloaked in klutzy hijinks, an over-analytical outlook and equally obsessed friends. I still had a cracking time reading everything that Georgia went through but I think the movie stole some of the spark from the pages for me.
It was an easy read but sometimes I felt a little bogged down by it all. (I might be showing my age here as I suspect young teens will adore it.) I think my main point is that I have read this before in many different incantations. If you think about it, it's even described as a teen version of a contemporary version (Bridget Jones' Diary) of a classic (Pride and Prejudice). Recycle much?
Published: 1999
Format: Paperback , 237 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
Origin: UK
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Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging Official Movie Site
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson
HarperCollins author profile
I couldn't resist posting this clip from the movie. Boy with a guitar, sigh.
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