Louise Rennison (1951–2016)

Another hilariously fab book from the slightly insane mind of Georgia Nicholson, everyone's red-bottomed teenager. This time around we play witness to a school trip to Paris (relatively uneventful when considering Georgia's normal drama), plenty more of the Sex God, and an introduction to the Cosmic Horn. I'm not even going to try to explain it, since I'm sure I won't do it justice, so you'll just have to read the book! But - quelle tragique! - Robbie abandons his dream of being a popstar to show more go off and play with sheep in Kiwi-a-gogo land (New Zealand). Poor Georgia is left on her own again, but maybe she'll get her act together and get with Dave the Laugh? Good chance... show less

4.5 stars! This review has to come with a disclaimer: Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging had so much content in it that would never EVER be published in 2025 (for good reason - it’s super offensive), so if you read it, just know that I’m not at all a fan of those parts.

That being said, this book made me laugh harder than I’ve ever laughed at a book in my life. I’m OBSESSED with Georgia’s insane thoughts and opinions. She is so dramatic and selfish, and I loved it. And her show more unruly cat, Angus, who makes it a habit to terrorize the neighborhood, is a delight! Before I had even gotten to the halfway point of this book, I had already ordered the second one from the library.

While horrendously offensive at times, Georgia’s thoughts sort of make sense coming from her, because Georgia is a 14 year old writing in her diary, and thus an unreliable narrator. I think most people would immediately pass away if they saw the contents of a 14 year old girl’s diary. They are brutal and scathing, taking no prisoners. In capturing Georgia as a character, Rennison gets it right!

Also, I normally don’t like diary formats for books, and I loved this, so don’t let the diary aspect scare you away from giving this a go. show less

TW: massive, massive anti-lesbian statements stuffed into nearly every page of this book. Misogyny is even more common. Classism is on display, as is age-ism and some incest. I firmly believe this character is related to Bella Swan, or mayhap sociopathy in teen girl book characters makes me think they are. The character says she's fifteen and a half but I am convinced she's an unusually literate six years old and got into what she thought was sugar and most adults would say coke. How the show more fuck is anything in this book funny? And it became a SERIES?!.
Georgia isn't six years old, however, because she obsesses over boys when she's not utterly fixated on how icky lesbians are. She is vapid, completely self-absorbed and self-centered, has absolutely no empathy, feels no loyalty to her friends, cannot shut up about herself, forgets about everyone except herself, has no boundaries with her toddler sister. Her selfishness knows no bounds. She hates every single other teen girl in existence. At least she hates girls she deems uglier than her (nearly everyone) as much as she hates girls she thinks are hotter than her (a few girls who might be trying to steal her crush who she's never actually spoken to). At least she enjoys things: insulting her best friends; whining when people don't call her every hour; obsessing over boys; insulting her teachers for enjoying teaching; sleeping; complaining about how absolutely hideous she is when boys are stated to think she's cute; and trying out wacky makeup stuff. Oh, and stealing things.

I briefly looked through some reviews people I'm following on Goodreads wrote and at least I know where they stand. I'm surprised at myself for being so horrified--a lot of support of non-heterosexual folx is still very performative. I read and enjoyed a series by a transphobe who proudly froths at the mouth about her views. I PUT A DISCLAIMER ON MY GOODREADS REVIEWS EXPLAINING WHY I OCCASIONALLY STILL READ THE BOOKS UNTIL EARLY 2022, WHEN I SWORE THEM OFF THE FINAL TIME. IT'S NOT HARD, PEOPLE. Donate to charities that help queer folx after reading this book and I will be somewhat less upset. And to think, I was hoping this book would be silly. It's mind-numbingly stupid when it's not incredibly hateful.. show less

How many times have we read this ridiculous book? Let me count… oh wait, we dislike doing maths just as much as Georgia, so we will desist! Considering that we’re officially well into our 30s, we should probably stop finding so much laughter in the ridiculous antics of Georgia Nicholson, but somehow her laughs remain eternal throughout the years. Managing her semi-domesticated wildcat, chasing after ungettable boys, typical highschool drama, and realistic family dynamics make this book show more almost timeless, even if we are aware that Georgia is a relatively immature teenager and some of her opinions don’t age well. She’s an idiot teenager, and (let’s get real) we were all just as ignorant and silly at that age – especially before the dawn of the internet, when it became significantly easier to self-educate. Though, we all know Georgia would just have used the internet to stalk her crushes and get into more drama, so it’s maybe better that she came along at a more disconnected time in the world – she sure gets into enough highjinx already! show less