Cover:
Bibliographic
Information:
Title: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions
of Georgia Nicolson
Author: Louise Rennison
ISBN: 978-0064472272
Publisher: HarperTempest
Copyright: 1999
Reader’s
Annotation:
Read one girl’s adventures in romance, in her own
words.
Summary:
Georgia and her friends at her all-girls school are
at the perfect age to become boy crazy.
Georgia’s friend Jas starts to Tom, a boy in town, so Georgia helps
gather information on Tom. Along the way
she meet’s Tom’s brother Robbie, and develops a crush of her own. Robbie has a girlfriend however, so Georgia looks for other boys, including Peter, who teaches Georgia how to kiss, and
Mark, another boy from the neighborhood.
Georgia worries about the state of her parents’ marriage, as her father
is off in New Zealand, leaving Georgia with her mother, younger sister Libby,
and ridiculous cat Angus. Georgia’s
father is looking for work, possibly moving the family to New Zealand if he is
successful. In the meantime, Georgia is
successful in breaking up Robbie and his girlfriend, and starts pursuing him
herself.
Critical
Evaluation:
The book is set up as Georgia’s diary, so we, the
readers, are privy to her personal and uncensored thoughts. I have to admit, I did not care for Georgia
as a character. Rennison has written her
in a manner that is wholly self-absorbed, immature, and disrespectful. For example, Georgia is very fixated on the
ranking the girls give each other in certain areas and physical traits. However, I expect that these are very similar
to the thoughts of most teen girls, and that is what makes this book so
popular. Despite the fact that I do not
care for Georgia as a character, she is incredibly well developed. I can practically picture her in my mind as I
read the book.
The plot moves very quickly, keeping the reader
engaged throughout. Georgia is very
comical, and gets involved in lots of hi-jinks, included the time she shaves off
her eyebrows. The ending is slightly
ambiguous, in part because this is the first in a series about Georgia’s
romantic adventures. However, the book
also functions quite well as a standalone story.
Because the setting is British, there are some slang
terms and spoken syntax that may seem odd to American teens reading the
book. However, the book does address
this up front, and includes a handy glossary.
Still, there are some cultural differences that may also present
challenges for teen readers. Most
American teens do not have to wear uniforms to school, for example.
All in all, Rennison has written an engaging, humorous
story about one girl’s journey through teenhood. Georgia is not only a well-developed
character, she is a very honest narrator to the story, even honest to the point
where she is a little unlikable.
Author
Biography:
*Note- Louise Rennison died in February, 2016. Her website bio has not been updated to
reflect this.
Louise Rennison lives in Brighton, a place that she likes to think of as
the San Francisco of the south coast. Which is sad as it is nothing like San
Francisco, being mainly pebbles and large people in tiny swimming knickers who
have gone bright red in the sun. Although she lives in Brighton in reality, in
her mind she lives somewhere exotic with a manservant called Juan.
Genre(s):
Romance, Chick Lit, Humor
Curriculum
Ties:
Pennsylvania State Standard CC.1.3.9-10.K
Read and comprehend literary fiction on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.
Booktalk
Ideas:
A discussion on British slang
A discussion about dating etiquette
Reading
Level:
Lexile 700
Interest
Age:
12 and up
Challenge
Issues: Could be
challenged based brief discussion of sexuality, and parental disrespect.
If
this book were challenged I would:
· Listen to the concerns of the person
raising the challenge
· Consult the library’s collection
development policy
· Explain how this work meets a library
need based on the collection development policy
· Consult YALSA’s Dealing with Challenges to
Young Adult Materials
· Consult reviews on VOYA, Amazon,
Common Sense Media, and Kirkus
· Discuss any awards or notable
commendations the book received
· Explain the library’s commitment to
intellectual freedom as discussed in the ALA Library Bill of
Rights
· Give the patron the procedure for a
formal challenge should they seek to pursue it
Why
was this book selected:
I had seen this book in our library, along with
other titles by Rennison, and never paid much attention to them. This book still circulates well at the
library. However, romance is not really
a book genre I enjoy reading. It was not
until I saw this title featured in the group presentation on YA romance and
chick lit did I realize I probably need to expand my reading for the sake of my
patrons. I wanted to be sure to include
at least one romance/chick lit title in my collection.
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