The Adrian Mole Diaries (Sue Townsend) 1988
The fictional diaries of British teenager Adrian Mole. who mistakenly sees himself as an intellectual, are quite funny. They are also at times poignant and sad as Adrian deals with his dysfunctional family off-beat friends. These were originally published separately in the U.K. as The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 and The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole. Sue Townsend wrote other diaries after these first two; however, I've read that the later books aren't quite as good as the first two. The humor in these diaries would probably not be everyone's cup of tea since some of it is dark, risque humor and often deals with teenage angst, interest in the opposite sex, and his parents crumbling marriage.

I think one of the blurbs on the back cover describes the book well, "The funniest, most bitter-sweet book you are likely to read this year.... Adrian is a marvelous creation. Read it. It is a sweet delight laced with acid." Rating: A-.
- posted by Brad @ 8/07/2007 10:22:00 PM