Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

Starred Review American readers wondering what on earth full-frontal snogging is will find the answer in the helpful (and hilarious) glossary appended to this antic diary of a year in the life of an English girl named Georgia Nicolson. Snogging is, simply, kissing with all the trimmings, and it's much on 14-year-old Georgia's mind these days. For even though she's still reeling from her devastatingly bad decision to go to a party dressed as a stuffed olive, she has fallen in love with an older man (he's 17), a Sex God named Robbie. The trouble is, S. G. is dating a girl named Lindsay who--brace yourself--wears a thong. Honestly, how wet (idiotic) can you get! In the meantime, life on the homefront is spinning out of control. Dad has gone to New Zealand in search of a better job, and pet cat Angus, who can usually be spotted stalking the neighbor's poodle, has gone missing. Although performer and comedy writer Rennison clearly owes a large debt to Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary (1998), her Georgia is a wonderful character whose misadventures are not only hysterically funny but universally recognizable. This fabbity, fab, fab novel will leave readers cheering, Long live the teen! and anxiously awaiting the promised sequel. (Reviewed July 2000)

Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

British writer Rennison's subject matter may be the stuff of Bridget Jones's Diary, but the wit and bite of her delivery shares more in common with Monty Python. In a spectacular YA debut (Rennison is a comedy writer and columnist), the author creates a winning protagonist in the persona of 14-year-old Georgia Nicolson, whose wry observations and self-deprecating humor covers everything from prudish parents and bed-wetting three-year-old siblings to errant cat behavior and kissing (aka snogging) lessons. Teens will discover that nothing is sacred here (e.g., """"Talking of breasts, I'm worried that I may end up like the rest of the women in my family, with just the one bust, like a sort of shelf affair""""). Rennison exquisitely captures the fine art of the adolescent ability to turn chaos into stand-up comedy. For instance, when Georgia's father finds a new job in New Zealand, the teen says she's already formed her opinion of the country based on the TV show Neighbours; when her mother says, """"Well, that's set in Australia,"""" Georgia thinks, """"What is this, a family crisis or a geography test?"""" Written as diary entries, the novel flouts the conceit, as when Georgia reports on a tennis match that she's playing concurrently (""""I fall to my knees like McEnroe and the crowd is going mad""""). The author bio indicates that Rennison is working on two more Georgia books; readers can only hope this heroine will keep them laughing all the way through high school. Ages 12-up. (May)

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

In this unabashed imitation of the adult bestseller Bridget Jones's Diary, fourteen-year-old Georgia's journal is just like Bridget's: improbable but undeniably funny, with our comic British heroine forever finding herself in embarrassing predicaments. It's personality rather than plot that carries the book, and while Georgia isn't quite as hilarious as Bridget, she's a close second. Glos.

Publishers Weekly (Tue Dec 03 00:00:00 CST 2024)

In a starred review, <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW said this "winning protagonist's wry observations and self-deprecating humor covers everything from prudish parents and a bed-wetting three-year-old sibling to errant cat behavior and kissing (aka snogging) lessons. A spectacular YA debut." Ages <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

School Library Journal

Gr 7-9-This is the hilarious Bridget Jones-like diary of 14-year-old Georgia, who has a rather wild cat named Angus, a three-year-old sister who pees in her bed, and a best friend who is in love with the vegetable seller's son. Georgia discusses kissing (snogging) lessons, which she needs because she has just met the "Sex God" of her dreams; what to wear to parties and school; and how to spy on your crush's girlfriend (this is where thongs come into play). In typical teen manner, Georgia lives in her own world; she thinks she is ugly, is convinced that her parents are weird, positively abhors schoolwork, and has a deep desire to be beautiful and older. Yet she still has time to enjoy the mad antics of her cat and indulge her odd but sweet sister. It will take a sophisticated reader to enjoy the wit and wisdom of this charming British import, but those who relish humor will be satisfied. Fresh, lively, and engaging.-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Aloha, OR Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.