Review: The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson Series

The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison, 2000 to present day.  Harper Teen.

Fourteen year old Georgia Nicholson has it tough.  Her parents, though old and extremely not cool, are still very much in love and very much interested in her life, her little sister seems to be in need of constant attention, or else something bad may happen to one of Georgia’s belongings, and then there’s Angus the cat, who is the most unusual cat Georgia and those around her have met, and this is just the people and animal living in her house.  This does not include the Ace Gang, Robbie the Sex God, Masimo and Dave the Laugh. 

The books are as hilarious as the titles throughout the series which includes, Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God, Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas, Dancing In My Nuddy Pants, Away Laughing on a Fast Camel, Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers, Startled by His Furry Shorts, Love is a Many Trousered Thing, Stop in the Name of Pants and the upcoming Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?.  I think it’s very cool that Georgia and all the characters in the book are based on real life people from Rennison’s life.  When I read about the books’ heavy borrowing from real life in an interview Rennison gave, it makes sense because there are some situations in this series that would be very hard to make up. 
I’m partial to the covers with the legs rather than the new covers with photographic images.  The British slag and causal conversation style keeps the books fast paced and I’m always surprised how little time has passed (usually a few months) by the time Georgia is done with her story for the time being.

This series is great for girls ages 12-14 (even though I started reading the series at the end of high school and loved it) who are growing a little to old for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, or who just want something to read while they wait for The Ugly Truth since it is also written in journal form, similar to the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot.  

Review: Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blume, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006.  Copy checked out from the San Diego County Library, Rancho San Diego Branch.

Mark Twain Reader Award Nominee

This book reminds me of an Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade for tweens.  Cornelia is very alone and very contrary.  Her mother is a famous pianist who is always traveling.  Cornelia is left with in the care of the servants.  Luckily, Cornelia happens to be very alone and very contrary in Greenwich Village, where she meets Virginia Somerset, Cornelia’s well traveled, well dressed, well read, well everything neighbor.  Virginia has an adorable pug and stories.  Stories of the travels she and her four sisters embarked on after World War II. 

            This book is a great for cuddling up when you’re having a sick day.  It’s easy to be sympathetic of Cornelia’s attitude at the beginning of the story, haven’t we all felt rather alone and a little unwanted at some time or another?  My favorite part is how the novel is made up of stories within a story.  After reading for awhile, I felt like putting the book down was like being awakened from a dream because I had become so buried in the story.  The ending is sad, but there is a triumphant resolution for Cornelia, which rings true in its realism- bad things do happen in life, but there are ways to move on with a strong, self assured elegance.

I could see this being a good read for 5^th to 7^th graders, especially girls who happen to use big words and love puppies.

Review: The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall.  Copy checked out from the San Diego County Library, Rancho San Diego Branch, based on a review in the Chinaberry Books Catalog.

2005 National Book Award Winner

            (click here to see other awards given to this book) (an interview with Jeanne Birdsall)

The Penderwick sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty have many adventures in store for them when they return to their summer vacation spot with their widower father.  At first glance, this book reminded me of one of those stereotypical idyllic children’s stories, the types that Francie Nolan detests in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  However, the Penderwick sisters would be the first to agree with Francie that a good story should mirror the trials of real life, and while the girls are not plagued by the themes used in dramatic hooks to advertise some tween fiction, they have problems to deal with, and problems to solve.  Rosalind’s trying to bake her way into an older boy’s heart, Skye is plotting strategies with her new best friend to keep him out of military school, Jane wants to write the next great American novel and is slowly realizing that all the information she needs for a good plot is happening all around her, Batty is coping with growing up without a mom and not being lost in the crowd as the youngest sibling.  Each sister is unique, sympathetic and likable.

This book is the first in the Penderwicks series.  The second book, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is available, and the third installment, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette will be available later next year.

This book would be perfect for a precocious fourth grader, a fifth grader who enjoys to read, or a sixth, seventh, or eighth grader who is in need of a good story to help them see how fun reading can be.