Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, by Louise Rennison

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:

(from author’s website)

*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.