Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison

Bibliographic Information:

Rennison, L. (1999). Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN# 006028871X

Plot Summary:
English, high school student Georgia Nicolson has a miserable life. Her parents are insane and won’t let her do anything, like dye her hair blonde. Her sister is three years old and already a bully. Libby will force her way into Georgia’s bed, hit Georgia if she feels Georgia isn’t behaving correctly, and quite possibly has peed somewhere in Georgia’s room. The summer hols (summer vacation) is ending soon and poor Georgia will have to go back to Stalag 14, her hated school. The all-girls school is run by the principal, comically dubbed “Slim” because she is a very over-weight woman. One of the most dreadful things about school is the school uniform. Georgia and her friends try to roll the skirt up as high as they can without being caught. Furthermore, they absolutely HATE wearing the beret and find great joy in technically wearing it without it being able to be seen from the front. To compound the problems of the uniform and boring teachers, Georgia has to deal with the popular girl who bullies others into doing what she wants as well as dealing with “Wet Lindsay,” a dreadful girl somewhat older than Georgia.

Georgia and her friends are constantly talking about boys, snogging (kissing,) and making themselves as beautiful as possible, though Georgia sometimes worries if she is a lesbian. Another one of Georgia’s concerns is her appearance. This is justified when she accidentally shaves off her eyebrows. In addition she is worried and angered when she gets the results back from the anonymous survey each of the friends filled out about each other regarding their appearances. At one point Georgia is curious enough about snogging that she goes to the house of an older boy who claims he can give snogging lessons. This incident proves to be quite humorous.

Eventually Georgia sees the boy she wants to make hers: Robbie the Love God. Unfortunately, he is going out with Lindsay and thinks that Georgia is too young for him. Oh the angst! How can Georgia survive with such a life?

Critical Evaluation:
Georgia is a hysterical character. Everyone at some point in their lives has worried about their appearance and whether or not they fit in with their group. Furthermore, all teens are embarrassed by their parents at one time or another. Told in a diary format, Angus is a quick, enjoyable read. Because of this first person narrative, the reader is privy to all of Georgia’s thought, emotions, and actions. This brings the reader deeper into the story almost becoming one of Georgia’s friends and confidantes. While Georgia is driven crazy by her family, Rennison’s writing makes it clear that deep down Georgia loves her family, much like most teens. An added bonus is the glossary at the back of the book. As Georgia is a British girl, she uses British slang and terminology. This could be confusing to readers not in England. The glossary makes the British idiosyncrasies available to all. The glossary is also used to bring the reader deeper into the story as Georgia periodically “talks” to the reader and refers him/her chided him/her for not knowing what something means and referring him/her to the glossary.

Reader's Annotation:
Georgia Nicolson is a high school student in England, who lives with her loony parents, her bully of a 3-year old sister, and her crazy cat, Angus who eats everything (edible or not,) attacks anyone, and harasses the poodles belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Next Door. School, dubbed Stalag 24 is a chore and all Georgia wants to do is hang out with her friends, try to be as beautiful as possible, and become the girlfriend of the Love God Robbie.

Information about the author:
Rennison lives in Brighton, England. After having several jobs, Rennison took a Performing Arts course. This course lead to her one-woman show Stevie Wonder Felt My Face which “won great acclaim and awards at the Edinburgh Festival in the 80s.” She has continued to perform her own shows. Several of the characters in Angus are loosely based on read people from Rennison’s childhood. In addition, several instances in the books are based on events that happened in her life. For research on the Georgia Nicolson books, Rennison spends lots of time with 14 year old girls whom she says only discuss “boys, make-up, and laughing.”
http://www.georgianicolson.com/meet.html

Currently there are 10 main books in the Georgia series with five other books about Georgia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Rennison

Genre: Realistic Fiction; humor

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts

Booktalking Ideas:
• How do you feel about school?
• Is your school experience like Georgia? How? How not?
• Discuss Georgia’s family. Do any of her family members remind you of someone?
• If Georgia were a real person, do you think you could be friends? Why/why not?
• How are your conversations with your friends similar to Georgia’s conversations with her friends?
• Have your parents ever done something to embarrass you? How does your experience compare to Georgia’s?

Reading Level/Interest Level:
The widest age range, according to the reviews, is 8 – 18. However, as a parent of a 10 year old daughter, I would recommend the book for at least junior high school students and especially high school students.

Challenge Issues:

Snogging (kissing); discussions of possible lesbianism; body image issues; disrespectfulness; crude language

If the book is challenged:
• Listen calmly to the complainant.
• Ask if s/he has read the entire novel.
• Show positive reviews of the novel.
• Show the selection policy.
If the complainant still has issues with the book:
• Request that the complainant read the entire book if this has not already occurred.
• Have the complainant fill out a reconsideration form.
• Set up a reconsideration meeting.
o Provide the reconsideration meeting members with:
 Positive reviews
 Selection policy
 Reconsideration policy

Selection Process:
I did a search on Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database with the following criteria: Award winner, reviews available, and age range from 15 – 18.

Nine positive reviews

Awards/ Best Books Lists:
• Appears on 12 Best Books Lists
• Appears on 8 state/provincial reading lists
• Has received 6 awards

Reading/Interest level, selection process information, reviews, and Awards/Best Books Lists were accessed using the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database at:
http://clcd.odyssi.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~lZbF5w:23
http://clcd.odyssi.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~lZbF5w:22 accessed through SJSU and not available to everyone.