Girl, 15, Charming but Insane

Author: Sue Limb
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 10, 2004
Age Range:  Young Adult – Fiction/Humor/Brit-Lit
Pages:  224
Date Scoot Read: September 2010
Source: Audiobook

Scoot's Rating:  7- Enjoyed most of it.

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Life was tragic enough before this spring started. With a distinct lack of boobage and an arse so big that birds of prey could nest within its shadows, Jess Jordan is saddled with the Goddess Flora for a best friend, a Britney Spears look-alike so gorgeous that one grain of her divine dandruff could make the blind see again. Jess knows that her soul mate is Ben Jones, a divine mixture of Leonardo diCaprio, Prince William, and Brad Pitt who oozes mystery and charisma. But the campaign to get Ben to notice her brings on a cavalcade of mortification and disaster, including, but not limited to, a minestrone soup explosion that takes place in her bra and a schoolwide viewing of a videotape that features a topless Jess referring to her breasts as “Bonnie” and “Clyde.”

Meanwhile, Jess’s death-obsessed Granny moves into her bedroom, along with her grandfather’s remains; her hypochondriac dad, who sends her daily “horrorscopes” like “You will fall asleep with your mouth open, and a family of earwigs will move in,” acts strange about Jess staying with him this summer; and her longtime friend Fred, a television violence addict and closet thumbsucker, has decided that he can’t stand being around her. Jess is determined to make things right . . . but with her offbeat sense of humor and her wildly active imagination, things get complicated along the way.

Scoot’s Review:

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book at the library. I just glanced at the back read a little of the synopsis and said, “Sure, why not”.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I enjoyed the witty repartee of Jess, especially with ‘longtime friend Fred’.  Jess had a huge imagination that leaked over into real her life in so many ways.  It was a refreshing change of pace reading this obviously British book because of the different terms and slang used throughout the story.  The storyline was predictable, but light-hearted fun.  Jess was a little frustrating as a character, as I kept having to remind myself she was only 15 and I am sure at that age I was not the brightest light-bulb in the box either.  The writing style flowed well and the storyline was easy to follow.  Even though this book is about a fifteen year old I would recommend it for older teens and up because it does have underage drinking and the occasional crude comment or sexual reference.