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Witty and sharp, the book follows Elizabeth, an imaginative and intelligent teenager. A genuinely sympathetic and well-rounded character, Elizabeth divides her time between worrying for flighty best friend Celia, keeping her divorced parents happy, mourning her lack of suitors, running and homework.
The narrative takes the form of all Elizabeth's correspondence, from notes left by her infuriating mother to postcards from her eccentric runaway best friend Celia. Far from making the story disjointed, this device adds to its readability and helps to build suspense. All the characters including very minor ones are so well drawn that it is impossible not to get involved with them.
Perhaps the most hilarious parts of the book are the scathing letters that Elizabeth receives from the various organisations which have spotted her shortcomings, including the Young Romance Association and The Association of Teenagers.
Dear Elizabeth Clarry,We feel that it is our duty to ensure that you are not getting any crazy ideas. This young man who's been talking to you on the bus? What's his name--Saxon Walker? He is simply not ever going to be interested in you.
My dear child, he is a popular boy, a cool boy, smart, funny, athletic and gorgeous. Perhaps in your imagination such a boy might be interested in you. But never in reality, Elizabeth. Never.
You are merely a running partner to him. No more. We do not wish to offend you, only to warn you.
Best Wishes,
Cold Hard Truth Association
These letters from Elizabeth's subconscious to herself are a really effective contrivance and a hilarious way of expressing how grievous she imagines her keenly felt faults to be. All readers will be able to identify with Elizabeth and remember all those internal confidence-destroying voices that everybody hears during their teenage years.
Highly readable and highly recommended. --Rachel Ediss --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A coming of age story,
By
This review is from: Feeling Sorry for Celia: A Novel (Paperback)
I thought this book was brilliant. It had been suggested to me before, but i had never wanted to read it. When I did, I really connected with Elizabeth, because who hasn't felt like everyone's depending on them? The letters and notes in this book let you look at the story from a different angle, it was humourous, and it was touching. I get tired of reading "high school books" with either no depth, or lots of melodrama. I read this book when i was fifteen and i felt like i was reading about me.I also think Australia has a lot of fantastic writers, and it's pretty arrogant to say that they don't when you've only read one book. (for example, read Love, Ghosts and Facial Hair)
5.0 out of 5 stars
i love this book,
By Rachel Weldrick (Meaford, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Feeling Sorry for Celia: A Novel (Paperback)
Everyone knows that some books are easy to read and others aren't. Well this book definetly is. It seems to flow together very well. So if you like books like the shopaholic series, you should definetly buy this book.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky, witty and honest,
By VanillaSorbet (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Feeling Sorry for Celia: A Novel (Paperback)
Jacyln Moriarty's debut novel is a refreshing antidote to the majority of books in the teen fiction genre: bland, patronising tales of lip gloss, spots and kissing techniques. Feeling Sorry For Celia, however, is full of spark and wit. While it never speaks down to its audience, it manages to communicate on the same wavelength, mainly through its charming and convincing heroine. Elizabeth is a shy 15-year-old with a passion for running, an embarrassingly eccentric mum and a best friend (the eponymous Celia) who has a tendency to do unpredictable, spur-of-the-moment things. When Celia runs away from home, Elizabeth attempts to track her down and in doing so, finds her life taking an unexpected turn.These events are brilliantly chronicled in a series of letters that range from hilarious to poignant, to just plain mad. Meanwhile, we get an insight into Elizabeth's personal insecurities in letters from imaginary societies including The Cold Hard Truth Association, The Association of Teenagers and The Society Of People Who Are Definitely Going To Fail High School (And Most Probably Life As Well!). It is quirky details such as this that make Feeling Sorry For Celia such a uniquely charismatic read. Another unusual feature of this book is that while it tackles such difficult subjects as suicide and teenage pregnancy with sensitivity, it is neither overtly sentimental nor preachy and does not underestimate its readers' maturity concerning these matters - unlike many novels aimed at teenagers, which make it condescendingly obvious when they are dealing with 'difficult issues'. Feeling Sorry For Celia is a wryly observed and highly original novel by a talented author whose honest and witty style stands out against the rest of the bubblegum-sweet books on the teenage fiction market.
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