Summary:
Gadzooks! It's another term at Dother Hall for Tallulah and
her mates. But can they keep their minds on the arts with all those boys
about...After the thing-that-will-never-be-mentioned last term, Tallulah is
keen to put all thoughts of Cain behind her. But that seems like that the last
thing he wants. Their performing arts college may have been saved by Honey's
mystery benefactor, but for how long is anyone's guess. So will Tallulah
finally get to wear those golden slippers of applause or will Dr Lightowler
swoop down on her glory days? And with Seth and Flossie forever snogging,
Vaisey and Jack loved-up and Phil and Jo fondly biffing each other can Tallulah
resist the call of her wild boy? Don your craziest tights and Irish dance your
way to some surprising and hilariously unexpected answers...
Review:
I have been reading Louise Rennison’s books since I was 14.
I remember picking up the first book in the confessions of Georgia Nicolson
series, hoping it would be a sort of YA version of Bridget Jones, and it was
exactly what I wanted. The plot is rather typical (aka: no surprises) in all of
her books. But what makes each of these books worth not just reading, but
owning, is the humor. These are books I’m slightly embarrassed to read out in
public because they always make me laugh out loud.
In fact, I was just finishing this book in a Dunkin Donuts
(grabbing the necessary caffeine before a meeting), debating if I should take
it out and read because I knew I’d embarrass myself. I of course took it out.
And I of course started cracking up. The popular Dunkin Donuts, mostly
populated by the retired community of Cape Cod probably all thought I was
drunk…in the middle of the day.
Any way, the book takes place after a holiday, with the tree
sisters returning to their arts academy and to a semester of The Taming of the Shrew themed
assignments. Somehow this theme has lead to owl raps, acting as horses, and all
sorts of other mayhem. I absolutely love every scene that takes place in the
decaying school. There’s drum workshops without any drums. There’s a school
janitor who invites the girls to terrible concerts of a band he’s in. There’s
parties in the woods. There’s school pranks, lots of flirting with the boy’s
academy next door, and so much humor!
I can literally read any of Rennison’s books in under 2
hours. You cannot put them down. I think it’s fantastic that this author can
appeal to me just as much now, as an adult, as they did for me 13 years ago as
a child. Her sense of humor is timeless. Her characters go above and beyond in
their believability. All of the girls are at least slightly superficial. All of
them think about boys in a believable way. And Rennison nails the whole teen
girl/self conscious thing in the bag. The characters actually act like
teenagers more than they do as adults –something a little bit rare in YA
lately.
I also believe in her boy characters. They are just as
funny. And while not all of them are as redeemable to me as others, I like that
Rennison’s girls seem able to learn from them. I love that Georgia plays the
role of mentor to Tallulah, but never take center stage in this series. I also
love that Rennison seems to be a believer in dating! Not all girls have to find
their one true soul mate right away. Sometimes a girl has to kiss a few frogs
first.
I kind of wish some of Rennison’s characters had better
relationships with their parents. I get that kids have to be away from the
parental figures for things to happen story-wise. But, can someone have good
(non-crazy) parents? I do love Tallulah’s aunt and uncle, but they are pretty
crazy with their scavenging.
This series is actually getting better as it goes. Tallulah
is becoming more and more confident, loveable, and compassionate. I will
continue to read these books, buy these books, and recommend them. It gets a 10/10
from me.
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