From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–Ever since Jess Jordan surprised readers by stuffing bags of minestrone soup down her bra to create the perfect filler in
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane (Delacorte, 2004), the laughs havent stopped. This third book about the teen does not disappoint. Jesss boyfriend, Fred, is great. Her best friend, Flora, is super supportive. She gets along with her librarian mom and she has made peace with the fact that her father is gay and living in Cornwall with his lover. In fact, she keeps planning out how to best introduce that newly unearthed fact once school starts. On the last day of break, Fred suggests that perhaps they can keep their relationship a secret so as not to ruin his reputation as a loner. An incensed Jess abruptly rushes home, knowing that Fred will call to apologize shortly. He never does. In addition to starting out the school year with this black cloud, Jesss favorite teacher has been replaced by a woman who takes an immediate dislike to her. As Jess muddles through the first few weeks of school without Fred, she finds herself in nonstop odd predicaments that will keep readers entertained. Another fun, funny tale of teen angst, British style.
–Emily Garrett, Naaman Forest High School, Garland, TX Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. Jess has love troubles in the latest installment of Limb's delightful British-flavored series. It's never easy to watch summer end, especially a perfect one spent with a new boyfriend. It's even worse when school signals a romantic breakup. Fred apologizes for being a prat, but that doesn't sooth Jess' heartache when he announces that he doesn't want to be part of a couple when school starts. Jess' romantic setbacks are compounded by her mother's new dating life, a prickly English teacher named Miss Thorn, and the replacement of the annual school comedy show with Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night. As in the bard's play, miscommunication and misunderstandings are the order of the day, but Jess faces each calamity with self-deprecating humor, perseverance, and daily text-message guidance from her father ("Worship not Armani nor Versace, for they are false gods, and besides, I'm not made of money"). Good humor is hard to come by in teen novels these days, but this book will keep readers laughing all the way to the last page. Pass it on to readers who like Louise Rennison's novels.
Cindy DobrezCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
