Module 15: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging

Module 15: (December 6-9)

Rennison, L. (1999). Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. New York, NY: Harper Collins Children's Books.

Summary: Georgia Nicolson is your average 14-year-old girl, who must balance school, family, friends, frenemies, boys, and hormones as she grows up in her seaside British town. Besides that, she thinks her nose is HUGE, and wonders desperately what it is like to be snogged, or kissed. Through her diary entries we follow along as she plays school pranks, tries to keep her wild cat, Angus, from eating the neighbor’s poodle, and meets a Sex God, aka 17-year-old Robbie. Meanwhile, her dad wants the family to move to New Zealand, her little sister keeps peeing in her (Georgia’s) bed, and her best friend is in love with Robbie’s brother. How will everything work out? Does Georgia get the guy? Will they move to New Zealand? How long does that poodle have to live?

My Impressions: I always meant to read this series when I was younger, but I somehow missed out on it. If I had read it back in middle school or high school, I would have found Georgia so relatable and fascinating. This first book was hilarious (especially the glossary at the end), and I didn’t find the content or language too unsurprising for the most part. I was just about Georgia’s age when these books first came out, so I can attest that we were thinking a lot of the same things as she and her friends! Perhaps those seeking to censor it aren’t completely aware of how modern day teens think, talk, or act.

Reviews: “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.”Michael Cart, Booklist*

“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.”—Publisher's Weekly*

*(Both reviews from this site). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0064472272/sr=1-1/qid=1291919653/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1291919653&sr=1-1

Library Use: I think one cool thing a library could do is have a display of books with multi-cultural characters/books set in other countries. You could use this series since it is set in England, but you could also do books set in Mexico, India, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, etc., or use books that have characters from those countries living in the United States. I know there are a couple of books that feature a young Middle Eastern teen by Randa Abdel-Fattah that talk about her experiences as someone with both Middle Eastern and American roots. I believe the first book is called Does My Head Look Big in This?, which refers to the head scarf she wears.

Image retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Angus-Thongs-Full-Frontal-Snogging-Confessions/dp/0064472272/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291919653&sr=1-1

Module 14: Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales

Module 14: (November 29-December 5)

Noyes, D. (ed.). (2004). Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Summary: This book features ten short stories written in the “gothic” style of genre for teens. Some of the stories follow all the same tropes and plot lines of classic gothic literature, while others take the stories and set them in currently creepy stories. Several of the stories have very unexpected endings, and will give the reader thrills and chills. Other stories are beautiful and mysterious, while a couple are absolutely hilarious as they lovingly mock the genre.

My Impressions: I have always loved gothic literature, even though it can be a bit formulaic at times, and this book was a really fun read, though it would have been even more fun to read it around Halloween! Scariest story (also my pick for most unexpected ending): “Morgan Roehmar’s Boys,” weirdest (in a cool way) story: “Watch and Wake,” and funniest story: “Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire” (the title alone is hilarious!). I haven’t read stuff by all of these authors, but I want to now!

Reviews: “The slightly generic cover design and forthrightly generic title of this collection may lead many readers to expect shrieking heroines, dreary castles, lurking vampires, and other tropes of the gothic tradition. They wouldn't be wrong, but they wouldn't be exactly right, either. Sure, many of these original tales…ape the vocabulary of the genre ("necromancer," "escritoire") and play with its abundant clichés (a house has as many "curses as it has spiders and silverfish"). But the maidens in peril still have to do their homework; twisted events are as likely to transpire in American suburbs as in dreary castles; vampires whine about the garlic in the spaghetti sauce and then attack their babysitters. Ideal for high-school literature classes studying Shelley or Stoker (Gaiman's smirking contribution, which toys with genre definitions, would work particularly well in the classroom), this collection also provides an excellent opportunity to introduce fans of Koontz, Rice, and King to some of the most imaginative exponents of YA dark fantasy.”—Jennifer Mattson, American Library Association, Booklist http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/B003O86J28/sr=1-1/qid=1291920763/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1291920763&sr=1-1

Library Use: This book would be great to either feature with other short story collections, or to talk about in a book talk around Halloween, along with other classic “gothic” tales from Poe, Shelley, Stoker, and the Bronte sisters, and maybe even some of the current authors writing books in this genre. It might also be nice to include some of the other books written by the authors of the short stories so if a kid found they liked that author’s style, they could check out the other things they have written as well.

Image retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Ten-Original-Dark-Tales/dp/0439803632/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291919510&sr=8-2