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Jess Jordan #1
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane
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.
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.
214 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 327 reviews
December 17, 2011
The book sweater reads FOR AGES 10 AND UP... though I am undecided that I’d recommend this book even for a twelve year old. Ha. It is an English book, maybe over there in England the children are much more mature. Most likely…
Jess (short for Jessica)- the main character who I am tremendously in love with, really likes this male boy called Ben. Though he’s a jerk so she really just fancies his looks… which is understandable… kind of. So Jess begins to question her own sexuality (as we all do at one point in our lives). Am I gay? Am I in love with my cat, Boo-Boo (Baby-Sitters Club), my fichus, or in Jess’s case, her own creation-THE THIRD SEX a shemale.
Jess realizes she is in love with a real gendered person, a male boy, not Ben, but someone that she’s known forever. The trouble with this is that her best mate, Flora likes the same guy.
Jess is the cutest, problem-prone, teenage girl I’ve never read. I loved her from the start and I’ll love her ‘til book 5 do us part!
Jess (short for Jessica)- the main character who I am tremendously in love with, really likes this male boy called Ben. Though he’s a jerk so she really just fancies his looks… which is understandable… kind of. So Jess begins to question her own sexuality (as we all do at one point in our lives). Am I gay? Am I in love with my cat, Boo-Boo (Baby-Sitters Club), my fichus, or in Jess’s case, her own creation-THE THIRD SEX a shemale.
Jess realizes she is in love with a real gendered person, a male boy, not Ben, but someone that she’s known forever. The trouble with this is that her best mate, Flora likes the same guy.
Jess is the cutest, problem-prone, teenage girl I’ve never read. I loved her from the start and I’ll love her ‘til book 5 do us part!
July 16, 2010
OK. So today I went to the library today fully prepared to pick out a few light reading beach reads for my week long beach extravaganza starting tomorrow. I grabbed this book, along with a few others, and headed for the door. When I got home, if you know me, it's impossible to stay away from a book, so I started it. It's the kind of book that no matter how good it is, you're going to keep reading. Addictive.
Sooner or later I was finished, and this is what I thought: Nothing special. OK, so basically it served it's purpose. Even though I did NOT read it at the beach, it was still exactly what I wanted it to be. And....well....truth be told, the author used just about every cliche there is. I know, I know, I wanted light reading and I got it. But sometimes I want a book with at least a LITTLE substance. And sadly, this was not that book.
Sooner or later I was finished, and this is what I thought: Nothing special. OK, so basically it served it's purpose. Even though I did NOT read it at the beach, it was still exactly what I wanted it to be. And....well....truth be told, the author used just about every cliche there is. I know, I know, I wanted light reading and I got it. But sometimes I want a book with at least a LITTLE substance. And sadly, this was not that book.
November 13, 2017
Meh. I was hoping for “fun fluffy teenager stuff - Georgia Nicholson basically” and what I got was “Oh yeah, I forgot how much I hated high school.”
May 24, 2017
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane is a novel written by Sue Limb about the struggles of a life of a teenager. Jess Jordan is your average British girl. With the help of her gorgeous, goddess-like friend Flora, and her movie-loving best friend Fred, she strives for the attention of her soul mate Ben Jones, who's captured the heart of many school girls. Jess' adventure through life has had ups and downs, some disastrous and almost humiliating her in front of her whole school. Her dad sends her "horrorscopes" while he's not around. Her mother raises her on her own, until her death-obsessed grandmother moves in and takes her bedroom. Through it all, she finds the light and humors in her life, and creates and outlet from which she can find freedom from all her struggles. Sue Limb created a story which readers can relate to and find entertaining and humorous.
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb was a book that I enjoyed reading. It cheered me up when I was in a down mood because of its humor. The novel had characters that I felt a relation with. Jess Jordan went through struggles and humiliations that I could relate to in feeling. The story itself was enjoyable to read, but I thought the ending felt incomplete. In other parts of the story, I thought that some of the dialogue seemed unrealistic. Overall, I did enjoy Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb, and I think other young adults will enjoy reading it as well.
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb was a book that I enjoyed reading. It cheered me up when I was in a down mood because of its humor. The novel had characters that I felt a relation with. Jess Jordan went through struggles and humiliations that I could relate to in feeling. The story itself was enjoyable to read, but I thought the ending felt incomplete. In other parts of the story, I thought that some of the dialogue seemed unrealistic. Overall, I did enjoy Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb, and I think other young adults will enjoy reading it as well.
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August 11, 2022I don’t really think it would be fair for me to review this but I can tell you some thoughts and feels.
I remember reading this on holiday in Greece from someone I made friends with and absolutely loved it, I can’t believe how much h I remembered from it tbh but it didn’t hit me in the feels of where I’m hit with nostalgia and still adored it unlike the Georgia Nicholson series.
There were some moments that I have to say did make me laugh and parts did feel relatable to growing up with the sense of friendships and boys.
I THINK I remember parts of the next books and low key want to carry on just to see!
I remember reading this on holiday in Greece from someone I made friends with and absolutely loved it, I can’t believe how much h I remembered from it tbh but it didn’t hit me in the feels of where I’m hit with nostalgia and still adored it unlike the Georgia Nicholson series.
There were some moments that I have to say did make me laugh and parts did feel relatable to growing up with the sense of friendships and boys.
I THINK I remember parts of the next books and low key want to carry on just to see!
June 5, 2021
Despite my low rating for this book, I actually read all the books of this series available to me in two days, which were the first four books. I would rate this book a little higher than the rest of the series, even though I'll probably still skim them just to find out what happens.
The thing about Jess is that while it's meant to be funny--and I did laugh aloud at times--it wasn't exactly as funny as I'd expect. To be honest, as a curmudgeonly old codger, I disapproved of Jess quite a bit, almost from the first page. She wasn't as funny as she thought she was, she was angry and ungrateful, and she was an inveterate liar--and I felt all this from the first few chapters. To be sure, maybe most teenagers are like this, but I wouldn't want to read about most teenagers either. The end of the book was a lot better than the beginning, where you could see that she actually did feel some morsels of sentiment towards her mom and grandmother. At the beginning, however, when her grandmother had to move in with them because she wasn't doing well and needed to use her room, Jess threw a flaming fit and ran off and stayed at a friend's overnight. I wanted to slap her silly.
The anger in this book is the worst in book 4, and the lying was the worst in book 3. I can't be sure though, because she's an angry liar throughout the entire series. In this book, I kept thinking that she'd avoid most of her issues (or at least find solutions for them) if she'd just be HONEST. She lied as a matter of course, and she was always jealous of her best friend and didn't tell her the truth either. I'm fairly sure these fueled her unending rage-omania because things kept not working out.
In this first book, they DID end up working out because she DID confide in her best male friend Fred in a surprising turn of events, because she lied to her best friend (why?) and then lied about the video in the bathroom to her mom (why, if you're feeling so ragey about it?).
The big thing in this story was that she went to a party where the brother of her friend rigged a camera in the bathroom to tape the girls when they went. Jess had put minestrone soup in her bra to create cleavage, which then exploded when she danced with a guy that attempted to make out with her. So she rushed into the bathroom to clean up and had to take off her bra and wash her chest.
I...have so many issues with this as a storyline. Everyone (boys) in the story appears to regard this as a joke, and the women would say that the men are immature, but what this actually is is a CRIME. When I read this part, I wasn't thinking oemgee how embarrassing for Jess, I was thinking, I WILL SUE. Because how DARE a teenage boy set up a camera in the bathroom to videotape young teenage girls and then want to show it at a PARTY for laughs?? WHERE ARE THE PARENTS? It was like a weird, unwholesome Charlie Brown book and the more I think about it, the more I hated everything about this book.
Aside from that, the reason I did keep reading was that it felt fairly readable--at least this book. (The worst was the fourth book. Save your time and money. It was so incredibly boring I feel like the author ran out plot.) The twist at the end was actually surprising to me because she'd been gaga over Ben Jones the entire time.
I just--did not like the main character. I didn't support her. While this may be true a giant portion of the time in YA novels, it worked against this book because it didn't read like a traditional YA novel (you know, with the angsting and the weird sexual chemistry). It was like a non-hormonal, yet strangely emotional supposedly comedic journal.
But I did still read four of these books. So it doesn't get only one star.
The thing about Jess is that while it's meant to be funny--and I did laugh aloud at times--it wasn't exactly as funny as I'd expect. To be honest, as a curmudgeonly old codger, I disapproved of Jess quite a bit, almost from the first page. She wasn't as funny as she thought she was, she was angry and ungrateful, and she was an inveterate liar--and I felt all this from the first few chapters. To be sure, maybe most teenagers are like this, but I wouldn't want to read about most teenagers either. The end of the book was a lot better than the beginning, where you could see that she actually did feel some morsels of sentiment towards her mom and grandmother. At the beginning, however, when her grandmother had to move in with them because she wasn't doing well and needed to use her room, Jess threw a flaming fit and ran off and stayed at a friend's overnight. I wanted to slap her silly.
The anger in this book is the worst in book 4, and the lying was the worst in book 3. I can't be sure though, because she's an angry liar throughout the entire series. In this book, I kept thinking that she'd avoid most of her issues (or at least find solutions for them) if she'd just be HONEST. She lied as a matter of course, and she was always jealous of her best friend and didn't tell her the truth either. I'm fairly sure these fueled her unending rage-omania because things kept not working out.
In this first book, they DID end up working out because she DID confide in her best male friend Fred in a surprising turn of events, because she lied to her best friend (why?) and then lied about the video in the bathroom to her mom (why, if you're feeling so ragey about it?).
The big thing in this story was that she went to a party where the brother of her friend rigged a camera in the bathroom to tape the girls when they went. Jess had put minestrone soup in her bra to create cleavage, which then exploded when she danced with a guy that attempted to make out with her. So she rushed into the bathroom to clean up and had to take off her bra and wash her chest.
I...have so many issues with this as a storyline. Everyone (boys) in the story appears to regard this as a joke, and the women would say that the men are immature, but what this actually is is a CRIME. When I read this part, I wasn't thinking oemgee how embarrassing for Jess, I was thinking, I WILL SUE. Because how DARE a teenage boy set up a camera in the bathroom to videotape young teenage girls and then want to show it at a PARTY for laughs?? WHERE ARE THE PARENTS? It was like a weird, unwholesome Charlie Brown book and the more I think about it, the more I hated everything about this book.
Aside from that, the reason I did keep reading was that it felt fairly readable--at least this book. (The worst was the fourth book. Save your time and money. It was so incredibly boring I feel like the author ran out plot.) The twist at the end was actually surprising to me because she'd been gaga over Ben Jones the entire time.
I just--did not like the main character. I didn't support her. While this may be true a giant portion of the time in YA novels, it worked against this book because it didn't read like a traditional YA novel (you know, with the angsting and the weird sexual chemistry). It was like a non-hormonal, yet strangely emotional supposedly comedic journal.
But I did still read four of these books. So it doesn't get only one star.
April 10, 2018
En realidad no sé cómo sentirme con este libro. Quien me lo recomendó, lo hizo con mucho amor y entusiasmo, pero esas dos emociones son dos que no siento en este momento ni sentí cuando lo leí. Pero, en fin... Ahí va mi reseñita:
Jess Jordan es una adolescente inglesa como cualquier otra: va a la escuela, tiene una mejor amiga y está enamorada de un muchacho. Puede que lo único que Jess desee de verdad es que su trasero no fuera tan grande ni su pecho tan pequeño, pero, fuera de eso, la vida de Jess no está mal.
...Hasta el día en que decide ir a una fiesta y se pone implantes de sopa en el pecho para pretender un busto más generoso. Esos implantes estallan en medio de la noche y de ahí en adelante la vida de Jess se enreda y da maromas y piruetas.
Realmente no hay mucho que pueda decir del libro. Es deliciosamente early 2000's, eso sí, con referencias a Lady Di, a Britney Spears y MTv. Mi problema con Girl, 15, Charming but Insane radica en que Jess como protagonista no me agradó: es berrinchuda y poco agradable, además de que tiene una tendencia muy marcada a fetishizar a la gente homosexual... Sigo sin estar segura de si me pareció más insoportable que Darina.
Otro de los puntos incómodos sería la necesidad que sintieron de hablar de orgías, supuestos escándalos sexuales entre padres, maestros, alumnos y padres con maestros Y alumnos. Siento que, al momento de escribir, alguieeeeen tenía más "hambre" que Becca Fitzpatrick al momento de escribir "Hush, hush".
Anyways! En resumidas cuentas: la trama principal no hubiera pasado si Jess hubiera tenido las agallas para hablar con sus amigos directamente y no se hubiera dedicado a esperar que todo saliera como ella deseaba que saliera con sólo imaginarlo. El final del libro es tan abrupto y tan plagado de metidas de pata por parte de Jess que uno puede ver venir de qué tratará el segundo de los libros... No obstante, he de admitir que desearía ver, más que en otras ocasiones, cómo es el final de esta serie.
...Pero es poco probable que lo haga porque no creo que el resto de los libros hayan sido publicados cerca de mí y no sé si valga la pena llenar mi tableta con más de Jess. ¡Sorry! ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )ᕗ
Jess Jordan es una adolescente inglesa como cualquier otra: va a la escuela, tiene una mejor amiga y está enamorada de un muchacho. Puede que lo único que Jess desee de verdad es que su trasero no fuera tan grande ni su pecho tan pequeño, pero, fuera de eso, la vida de Jess no está mal.
...Hasta el día en que decide ir a una fiesta y se pone implantes de sopa en el pecho para pretender un busto más generoso. Esos implantes estallan en medio de la noche y de ahí en adelante la vida de Jess se enreda y da maromas y piruetas.
Realmente no hay mucho que pueda decir del libro. Es deliciosamente early 2000's, eso sí, con referencias a Lady Di, a Britney Spears y MTv. Mi problema con Girl, 15, Charming but Insane radica en que Jess como protagonista no me agradó: es berrinchuda y poco agradable, además de que tiene una tendencia muy marcada a fetishizar a la gente homosexual... Sigo sin estar segura de si me pareció más insoportable que Darina.
Otro de los puntos incómodos sería la necesidad que sintieron de hablar de orgías, supuestos escándalos sexuales entre padres, maestros, alumnos y padres con maestros Y alumnos. Siento que, al momento de escribir, alguieeeeen tenía más "hambre" que Becca Fitzpatrick al momento de escribir "Hush, hush".
Anyways! En resumidas cuentas: la trama principal no hubiera pasado si Jess hubiera tenido las agallas para hablar con sus amigos directamente y no se hubiera dedicado a esperar que todo saliera como ella deseaba que saliera con sólo imaginarlo. El final del libro es tan abrupto y tan plagado de metidas de pata por parte de Jess que uno puede ver venir de qué tratará el segundo de los libros... No obstante, he de admitir que desearía ver, más que en otras ocasiones, cómo es el final de esta serie.
...Pero es poco probable que lo haga porque no creo que el resto de los libros hayan sido publicados cerca de mí y no sé si valga la pena llenar mi tableta con más de Jess. ¡Sorry! ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )ᕗ
June 30, 2011
I'm not one for British literature, simply because I have a stigma against the stereotypical dry, oh so dry--oh God I'm gonna die from dehydration--humor. And usually, British people stay true to that stereotype and write in a way that I need to pause to breathe in some air from the mustiness of their prose.
Prejudices aside, I was actually surprised by this book. My classmate had to read it for a literature assignment with her group, and while I was supposed to be focusing on singing in Treble Choir, I skimmed over the first chapter and found myself drawn into the book. I was on chapter 7 by the time class ended. And so when it came for my own English class to choose books for their reading assignment, I hopped aboard and joined the group for this book because it was so entertaining.
The book is written in a snarky British-y way, as you can expect, but in a way that, like Monty Python, can cross overseas and be funny to us Americans too. Some of my friends didn't like the book because they weren't interested, but I read it to the end.
The ending was kind of rushed in a way, but I'll forgive that because it was written the way it was and it was rarely stale. The humor was hilarious (which is why it's...humor) and I laughed at some things and pointed other things out to others because of their sheer ridiculousness or "What the heck?!"-ness...
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a read that is British literature, but most importantly, about a girl who is struggling to get through life with "a big arse" and "small boobs" and getting herself into mishaps that seem so out-of-the-ordinary, but still click and fit with the story.
Prejudices aside, I was actually surprised by this book. My classmate had to read it for a literature assignment with her group, and while I was supposed to be focusing on singing in Treble Choir, I skimmed over the first chapter and found myself drawn into the book. I was on chapter 7 by the time class ended. And so when it came for my own English class to choose books for their reading assignment, I hopped aboard and joined the group for this book because it was so entertaining.
The book is written in a snarky British-y way, as you can expect, but in a way that, like Monty Python, can cross overseas and be funny to us Americans too. Some of my friends didn't like the book because they weren't interested, but I read it to the end.
The ending was kind of rushed in a way, but I'll forgive that because it was written the way it was and it was rarely stale. The humor was hilarious (which is why it's...humor) and I laughed at some things and pointed other things out to others because of their sheer ridiculousness or "What the heck?!"-ness...
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a read that is British literature, but most importantly, about a girl who is struggling to get through life with "a big arse" and "small boobs" and getting herself into mishaps that seem so out-of-the-ordinary, but still click and fit with the story.
February 14, 2009
This one gets two thumbs up for the narrator who does a brilliant job. I thoroughly enjoyed this much more listening to it than I would have just reading it as it is British and the narrator (also British) makes it a really fun read.
Instead of describing the plot, I will just say that there were some very funny moments in this book, like: Jess, the 15 year old narrator, naming her breasts Bonnie and Clyde and using minestrone soup poured into bags as inserts in her bra to add more cleavage only one of the bags bursts at a party while she is dancing with a boy. And this is just one incident early on.
The book also explores teenage relationships from best friends Jess and Flora to their respective relationships (or attempted ones) with the boys in their lives. Jess's grandmother comes to live with her and her mother and everyone must learn to readjust. And Jess often wonders why her parents split up (which apparently is addressed in another book).
A very funny book that describes what it is like to be a 15 year old trying to find your place at home and at school, with your family and friends, and with boys. Beware though, that the book is British and does make use of British terms and slang throughout (which is why the narrator was so great).
Instead of describing the plot, I will just say that there were some very funny moments in this book, like: Jess, the 15 year old narrator, naming her breasts Bonnie and Clyde and using minestrone soup poured into bags as inserts in her bra to add more cleavage only one of the bags bursts at a party while she is dancing with a boy. And this is just one incident early on.
The book also explores teenage relationships from best friends Jess and Flora to their respective relationships (or attempted ones) with the boys in their lives. Jess's grandmother comes to live with her and her mother and everyone must learn to readjust. And Jess often wonders why her parents split up (which apparently is addressed in another book).
A very funny book that describes what it is like to be a 15 year old trying to find your place at home and at school, with your family and friends, and with boys. Beware though, that the book is British and does make use of British terms and slang throughout (which is why the narrator was so great).
November 27, 2021
there is absolutely NOTHING better than a great slightly silly but awesomely amusing teenage girl’s diary type of book - truly loved this
ps: who wil be my fred???
ps: who wil be my fred???
January 24, 2023
Het is een mooi boek. Goed voor wat afleiding :)
October 10, 2014
I ADORE this book.
If you're like me, a fan of Meg Cabot, and appreciate the most riddicolous and random elements of humour, then you'll just adore this too.
I laugh until my stomach hurts and I'm short of breath, tears in my eyes.
Let me just let one of the thousands of hilarious quotes from the book speak for me:
"OK, Flora's house was a bit intimidating. It was rather like heaven. Flora and her sisters Freya and Felicity were all blonde. Her mother was blonde. Her dad was blonde. The dog was blonde. Even the carpets were blonde."
If you want to read something serious, keep away from this. If you simply want to read a riddicolous, entertaining and oh-so-embaressing book, this it. I read it whenever I feel like a break from the serious stuff, and just read for the fun of it. Reccomend it to anyone who has a sense of humour!
If you're like me, a fan of Meg Cabot, and appreciate the most riddicolous and random elements of humour, then you'll just adore this too.
I laugh until my stomach hurts and I'm short of breath, tears in my eyes.
Let me just let one of the thousands of hilarious quotes from the book speak for me:
"OK, Flora's house was a bit intimidating. It was rather like heaven. Flora and her sisters Freya and Felicity were all blonde. Her mother was blonde. Her dad was blonde. The dog was blonde. Even the carpets were blonde."
If you want to read something serious, keep away from this. If you simply want to read a riddicolous, entertaining and oh-so-embaressing book, this it. I read it whenever I feel like a break from the serious stuff, and just read for the fun of it. Reccomend it to anyone who has a sense of humour!
July 23, 2016
This book really surfs on its narrative voice. Jess is ever ready with a snappy remark and her wry humor makes for delightful reading. Her sarcasm never comes across as mean-spirited, particularly since so much of it is directed at herself. The metaphors are great, and the plot is unashamedly over-the-top. It's nice to find a narrator who is so consistently good-humored even in the face of disaster.
I'll take off one star because the plot drags on a bit at the end, as Jess' travails start to read more like a Ramona Quimby book and less like the sophisticated teenager she was at the beginning. All the agonizing over personal relationships is a bit wearing. Still, top marks for a heroine who always lands on her feet, and an excellent choice for a young adult looking for a pick-me-up.
I'll take off one star because the plot drags on a bit at the end, as Jess' travails start to read more like a Ramona Quimby book and less like the sophisticated teenager she was at the beginning. All the agonizing over personal relationships is a bit wearing. Still, top marks for a heroine who always lands on her feet, and an excellent choice for a young adult looking for a pick-me-up.
October 11, 2010
I only got interested in this novel because someone on the boards compared it to Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson books. Big mistake. If Georgia books are juvenile but funny, this one is very juvenile and very unfunny. You can predict the ending after reading the 1st 5-page chapter. Plus the 3rd person type narration doesn't help the case.
P.S. This must be the ugliest cover ever.
P.S. This must be the ugliest cover ever.
November 13, 2009
This book was ugh... okay. I just read it a few hours ago and I can't even remember what happened. It was pretty bland. It just wasn't a page turner for me. It is about a girl named Jess who has a really beautiful friend who she is always comparing herself to, and a boy she really wants. And, she is trying to be fit in. I wouldn't recommend this book because it was boring and unexciting.
August 21, 2016
This was one of the funniest books I've ever read. I laughed out loud many times. Perhaps someone forgot to tell the author how hard it is to write comedy. I actually listened to the audio version which is even better because the reader did a great job. I want to find out more about this author but I think it is a great book for a savvy young adult.
August 18, 2009
SO FUNNY! This author is hilarious! I laughed the entire time. It almost reminded me of all the neurotic characters on Scrubs forming one super person which happens to be a 15 year old girl. I can't wait to read the rest!
November 29, 2022
Ugh, read a few reviews and this sounds HORRIBLE. I liked it enough to have it as a keeper and the second book on my shelf, but purging to make room.
2 stars due to the scene where the boys set up a camera to record IN THE BATHROOM at a party to record the girls in there. NOT COOL.
2 stars due to the scene where the boys set up a camera to record IN THE BATHROOM at a party to record the girls in there. NOT COOL.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2009
Fun, wicked, crazy, and after reading this I begin to hate Flora. A lot. But hey, the protagonist gets even in the end, so... :)
January 19, 2012
I laughed out loud in places at this British school girl. A lovely fresh voice. Recommend it for younger girls reading in the young adult section. 13 or 14 or so as it's pretty clean.
April 17, 2019
Aspiring stand-up comedian Jess Jordan has a few problems:
1. She is desperate to catch the attention of her crush, Ben Jones.
2. Her best friend, Flora, is a perfect goddess ethereal being and Jess looks like a hobgoblin next to her.
3. Her other best friend, Fred, has stopped talking to her.
4. Her murder-obsessed granny moved in with her and her mum.
5. Her homemade breast-enhancers (made of minestrone soup) exploded at a party after a guy named Whizzer squeezed one.
At least she isn’t short on material for her stand-up routine that she’s performing at the school talent show...unless something goes wrong...and with the way everything else has been going, something probably will go wrong…
Sue Limb’s narrative voice jumps off the page in Girl, 15, Charming but Insane. Jess Jordan is a funny, witty protagonist that will keep readers laughing and turning pages for more laughs. I found Limb’s choice to write in third person to be refreshing, as many similar authors write their female-centric tween comedy novels in first person (Louise Rennison, Holly Smale, for example). Limb’s voice is great, though, and brings readers just as close to Jess as first person narration would. Jess’ ups and downs are funny and engaging. While Limb explores competition between girlfriends and jealousy in an honest way, I would have also liked to see the flip side of that and read about positive female relationships as well. Additionally, I felt I was left with a couple of loose ends at the book’s conclusion, which isn’t necessarily negative, however I would have liked it to be acknowledged.
If you liked Girl, 15, Charming but Insane, you might also like / if you liked the following books, you might like Girl, 15, Charming but Insane:
- Anything by Louise Rennison (I would especially recommend Withering Tights and its sequels if you enjoyed Jess’ flair for stand-up comedy)
- Confessions of a High School Disaster by Emma Chastain
- The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver by E. Lockhart
1. She is desperate to catch the attention of her crush, Ben Jones.
2. Her best friend, Flora, is a perfect goddess ethereal being and Jess looks like a hobgoblin next to her.
3. Her other best friend, Fred, has stopped talking to her.
4. Her murder-obsessed granny moved in with her and her mum.
5. Her homemade breast-enhancers (made of minestrone soup) exploded at a party after a guy named Whizzer squeezed one.
At least she isn’t short on material for her stand-up routine that she’s performing at the school talent show...unless something goes wrong...and with the way everything else has been going, something probably will go wrong…
Sue Limb’s narrative voice jumps off the page in Girl, 15, Charming but Insane. Jess Jordan is a funny, witty protagonist that will keep readers laughing and turning pages for more laughs. I found Limb’s choice to write in third person to be refreshing, as many similar authors write their female-centric tween comedy novels in first person (Louise Rennison, Holly Smale, for example). Limb’s voice is great, though, and brings readers just as close to Jess as first person narration would. Jess’ ups and downs are funny and engaging. While Limb explores competition between girlfriends and jealousy in an honest way, I would have also liked to see the flip side of that and read about positive female relationships as well. Additionally, I felt I was left with a couple of loose ends at the book’s conclusion, which isn’t necessarily negative, however I would have liked it to be acknowledged.
If you liked Girl, 15, Charming but Insane, you might also like / if you liked the following books, you might like Girl, 15, Charming but Insane:
- Anything by Louise Rennison (I would especially recommend Withering Tights and its sequels if you enjoyed Jess’ flair for stand-up comedy)
- Confessions of a High School Disaster by Emma Chastain
- The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver by E. Lockhart
September 23, 2021
I really enjoyed this YA novel about a teenage girl juggling the feelings and problems of adolescence. It hit all the key notes: love, jealousy, anxiety, boredom, embarrassment, exultation, despair - that special mix of extreme emotional highs and lows you only get when hormones are at an all-time raging peak.
As a 40-something woman, it was difficult for me not to see echoes of Bridget Jones’ Diary (happily without the smoking, drinking, or rampant sex), as main character Jess has a hilarious sense of humour, a rich and expansive fantasy life, a frustrating mother, an obsession with the size of her bum, a love of room decor, a strong dislike of actual work, and a penchant for thinking of herself in the third person.
There is also a dream sequence where she reimagines the spotty boy buffoons around her speaking like Jane Austen characters; I giggled with delight. She experiences a series of comic mishaps that ultimately result in her being both the unluckiest and yet also the luckiest person in her own story, which I think is the recipe for a great dramedy.
The writing is clean and funny, none of the twists are too brutally tragic, and I really enjoyed the granny character. Fred as Jess’s supporting man is a brainy, antisocial, verbally advanced nerd, so I obviously loved him. I also enjoyed Flora’s portrayal as the annoyingly gorgeous, successful, smart and romantically successful best friend who you would hate if you didn’t love them (this BFF feeling was a major aspect of my own teen years, so rang true for me personally).
There’s clearly more to come in the series, unpacking the backstory behind the parents’ divorce, and answering the many cliffhanger questions like: What will become of Flora’s love life? Where will Granny scatter Grandad’s ashes? What’s the deal with Ben and girls? Is Fred as delightful as he seems? Will Jess ever successfully finish a piece of homework or is she doomed to repeat a grade? Are the music teachers really having an affair? Why does the English teacher drive such a tiny car? And many more.
I’m glad I started with the short prequel book that comes before this, but I can see that this was all around a much better kickoff to the series. I am clearly going to chew through all of these books like a box of Halloween candy bars, om nom nom! Delicious!
As a 40-something woman, it was difficult for me not to see echoes of Bridget Jones’ Diary (happily without the smoking, drinking, or rampant sex), as main character Jess has a hilarious sense of humour, a rich and expansive fantasy life, a frustrating mother, an obsession with the size of her bum, a love of room decor, a strong dislike of actual work, and a penchant for thinking of herself in the third person.
There is also a dream sequence where she reimagines the spotty boy buffoons around her speaking like Jane Austen characters; I giggled with delight. She experiences a series of comic mishaps that ultimately result in her being both the unluckiest and yet also the luckiest person in her own story, which I think is the recipe for a great dramedy.
The writing is clean and funny, none of the twists are too brutally tragic, and I really enjoyed the granny character. Fred as Jess’s supporting man is a brainy, antisocial, verbally advanced nerd, so I obviously loved him. I also enjoyed Flora’s portrayal as the annoyingly gorgeous, successful, smart and romantically successful best friend who you would hate if you didn’t love them (this BFF feeling was a major aspect of my own teen years, so rang true for me personally).
There’s clearly more to come in the series, unpacking the backstory behind the parents’ divorce, and answering the many cliffhanger questions like: What will become of Flora’s love life? Where will Granny scatter Grandad’s ashes? What’s the deal with Ben and girls? Is Fred as delightful as he seems? Will Jess ever successfully finish a piece of homework or is she doomed to repeat a grade? Are the music teachers really having an affair? Why does the English teacher drive such a tiny car? And many more.
I’m glad I started with the short prequel book that comes before this, but I can see that this was all around a much better kickoff to the series. I am clearly going to chew through all of these books like a box of Halloween candy bars, om nom nom! Delicious!
April 18, 2021
3/5
J'ai bien aimé ce roman mais sans plus.
L'histoire est ni très recherchée, ni très originale mais elle est tout de même addictive et sans prise de tête
Il est assez court et se lit vraiment rapidement.
Les personnages sont pas très approfondis et plutôt superficiel. J'ai réussi à m'attacher seulement à Jess, le personnage principal.
La plume est simple, très fluide et plutôt addictive.
Le roman est écrit à la 3ème personne, j'aime pas trop ça donc j'ai eu un peu de mal au début. Mais plus j'avançais dans ma lecture, moins ça me dérangeais.
Je suis un peu déçue de la fin, qui est trop rapide à mon goût. Et le dernier chapitre n'aurait pas dû être le dernier, il y aurait fallu qu'il se situe un peu avant dans le livre.
C'est donc un avis assez mitigé, mais le livre est quand même assez cool !
J'ai bien aimé ce roman mais sans plus.
L'histoire est ni très recherchée, ni très originale mais elle est tout de même addictive et sans prise de tête
Il est assez court et se lit vraiment rapidement.
Les personnages sont pas très approfondis et plutôt superficiel. J'ai réussi à m'attacher seulement à Jess, le personnage principal.
La plume est simple, très fluide et plutôt addictive.
Le roman est écrit à la 3ème personne, j'aime pas trop ça donc j'ai eu un peu de mal au début. Mais plus j'avançais dans ma lecture, moins ça me dérangeais.
Je suis un peu déçue de la fin, qui est trop rapide à mon goût. Et le dernier chapitre n'aurait pas dû être le dernier, il y aurait fallu qu'il se situe un peu avant dans le livre.
C'est donc un avis assez mitigé, mais le livre est quand même assez cool !
January 1, 2023
Jess Jordan is snarky. She's constantly coming up with funny thoughts about the life going on around her. Jess has body issues, she's unhappy with her own. She has a crush on Benbut believes he would never go out with someone like her. When Ben's best friend starts dating Jess' best friend they get to hang out quite a bit. Others begin to think they must be going out. This causes conflict with Jess' other best friend Fred.
Jess has an extremely embarrassing moment at a party that causes a snow ball effect.....leading to Fred and Jess not talking. As Jess looks at boys and relationships she starts to see that friendships can be altered by boy/girl relationships. She's learning a lot about herself and her friends. Friends, relationships, family... it's all in this story.
Jess has an extremely embarrassing moment at a party that causes a snow ball effect.....leading to Fred and Jess not talking. As Jess looks at boys and relationships she starts to see that friendships can be altered by boy/girl relationships. She's learning a lot about herself and her friends. Friends, relationships, family... it's all in this story.
May 10, 2019
Picked this up at the library because of its awesome cover and quirky title. Cute, quick read with a satisfying ending. There are some annoying character quirks, and other characters are left too shallow (which may be remedied in subsequent volumes). Like many stories where there's writing within writing, I found the main character's writing less-than-great, but that didn't bother me. There's one instance of the r-word used as an insult -- the book shows its age here. Overall quite enjoyable, though, and it left me smiling. I'll definitely try to get my hands on the rest of the series. 3.5 stars.
May 22, 2021
did i make it up or was the ending changed slightly? i swear in my memories of the this book jess shaves fred's hair and he has a buzzcut instead and she compares it to eminem. was it edited cause eminem is no longer relevant to teens??? anyway this binch is so dramatic shes like its been light years since i spoke to fred and its literally been...... 2 weeks. also if its before term ends and theyre 15 why arent they going through an exam season? plot holes binch. u can really tell this was written by someone who hasnt been a teen in a whiiile. idk if im gonna read the next book, i have it downloaded but i didnt have as much fun as i thought i would although it was still a v easy read.
January 14, 2022
When I was much younger, I remember loving this book and made sure to keep it to one day pass on to my own child, along with my favourite Enid Blyton's and Jaqueline Wilson's.
A recent declutter of the house made me find this again and I thought I would re-read for old time's sake.
I wish I hadn't, this book hasn't aged well at all. The worst part for me was the bit where the teenagers hold a party to watch a video of the ladies loo at a previous party and everyone seeming to think that this was okay!
Definitely belongs in the early 00s, I don't think a modern day tween should be reading this one.
A recent declutter of the house made me find this again and I thought I would re-read for old time's sake.
I wish I hadn't, this book hasn't aged well at all. The worst part for me was the bit where the teenagers hold a party to watch a video of the ladies loo at a previous party and everyone seeming to think that this was okay!
Definitely belongs in the early 00s, I don't think a modern day tween should be reading this one.
December 18, 2016
This is quite a... muddled review as I read this book as a part of my English class (Extensive Reading task), and this review is a compilation of 3 essays and 12 pages of random notes. Like, half of it is me rambling about my fav background character.
I own an actual copy of this book though I have no idea how it turned up in our town; I found it on a bookcrossing shelf (in English! in Siberia! I guess I’m just lucky). The book is British, and it’s a good thing it’s British. I certainly need more British in my life.
And yeah, MINOR SPOILERS.
As the title suggests, Sue Limb’s book tells us a story of a teenage girl. Jess is a witty, slightly (slightly?!) weird girl who is a bit overshadowed by her best friend Flora. Though, Flora is the person who brings Jess closer to her crush when conveniently starts dating said crush’s best friend. Jess’s dream boy’s name is Ben Jones. We get introduced to him nearly at the same time we meet Jess, the main character. Ben is always shown through her eyes, and while she might be an unreliable narrator because of her crushing on the boy there is still enough information for me to declare him my favourite character =D
At first his appearance makes him look like one of these love interest types that usually turn out shallow and unworthy of love in the end: golden blond hair, blue eyes, athletic (as he plays football). Apparently, Ben Jones looks like “a touch of Leonardo DiCaprio, a hint of Prince William, the merest suggestion of Brad Pitt”. While admiring him from afar Jess thinks that he is definitely not like other boys and even after she isn’t so crazy about him anymore she more than once describes him as angelic or godlike.
Whenever he turns up in the story line he is smiling. Ben Jones’s smile is one of his defining features. It is usually crooked or slanty, but not unkind. Lovely, handsome, lazy and slow. It shows his laid-back nature and openness. He isn’t that kind of disappointing unlovable guy that the main character gets over in the end of the story, he is interesting by himself and very charismatic. Open and confident, but polite. He is silent most of the time, talking only “in his usual six-words-a-minute way”, but when he talks he talks sense. Ben thinks there are things more important than dates and crushes, but he notices quite hidden romantic feelings between Jess and her friend Fred. So he is “more perceptive than Jess herself” as she admitted. And closer to the end of the book Jess starts to see Ben more as a friend, than as a boyfriend.
While being gorgeous and handsome, this boy doesn’t try to be in the centre of attention. He is easy to embarrass and he is quiet, but he can’t bear silence or quarrelling between his friends, so more often than not he tries to break the silence or a budding fight with a sudden phrase, sometimes completely random. Jess called it “inability to cope with emotion”, but I think it might be an aspect of his main feature… It is how he behaves with his friends. “You’re a star, go for it. You’re, like, light years more intelligent than any of us,” Ben says to Jess, gives her advice and smiles at her instead of brushing her off like everyone else did. He is supportive of his friends, caring and encouraging.
And all that a bit reminds me of the show Miraculous: Les Aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir. Both the book and the show are very cute and discuss the topic of young love and teenagers’ problems. Jess’s crush is a little similar to Marinette’s as she describes Ben the same way Marinette describes Adrien: perfect. The boys themselves are similar, too. Ben Jones and Adrien Agreste are both blond, bright-eyed, athletic, kind, polite, supportive, etc.
Next… I may talk a lot about Ben, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like Jess. Jess Jordan is amazing! Actually, her character reminds me of the time when I was her age. I think I was quite weird when I was fifteen, too. Jess is witty, sarcastic, sometimes snarky, her imagination runs wild (she imagines men she knows as various animals and “what if” she and her friends were living in a Jane Austen’s novel), sometimes she gets some really questionable ideas (like when she decided to use minestrone-filled packets as bra inserts) and she talks to her boobs and to her teddy bear (whom she calls Rasputin). It is all these funny things that one would fondly remember, thinking how silly everything was back then.
And another interesting thing: My gay-sense kept tingling... Someone is gay in this story, someone is. Jess’s Dad? Totally. The guy is so gay, it seeps through the phone whenever he calls Jess. Ben Jones? You could ask me why I think about it…
It’s all because of that line of his:
“I’m not interested in any girls, yeah? Not in that way. I don’t want a girlfriend. I couldn’t, like, cope with it. No girl’s ever going to break my heart. Other stuff is so more important”.
Like, wow. Something to think about. He could be gay (Jess thought about it; and I wouldn’t put it past Sue Limb to make him gay, she DOES have teenage lesbians in her book). Or he could be asexual/aromantic, possible too, as possible him just being a late bloomer.
Conclusion!
Would I recommend this book to a friend? I would! I would gladly recommend it to non-English-speaking people who need more reading practice and understanding of British slang because there is a lot of it in the book, to teenagers and to people who like silly books that they are “too old to read” because everyone needs more good-natured silliness in their life.
I own an actual copy of this book though I have no idea how it turned up in our town; I found it on a bookcrossing shelf (in English! in Siberia! I guess I’m just lucky). The book is British, and it’s a good thing it’s British. I certainly need more British in my life.
And yeah, MINOR SPOILERS.
As the title suggests, Sue Limb’s book tells us a story of a teenage girl. Jess is a witty, slightly (slightly?!) weird girl who is a bit overshadowed by her best friend Flora. Though, Flora is the person who brings Jess closer to her crush when conveniently starts dating said crush’s best friend. Jess’s dream boy’s name is Ben Jones. We get introduced to him nearly at the same time we meet Jess, the main character. Ben is always shown through her eyes, and while she might be an unreliable narrator because of her crushing on the boy there is still enough information for me to declare him my favourite character =D
At first his appearance makes him look like one of these love interest types that usually turn out shallow and unworthy of love in the end: golden blond hair, blue eyes, athletic (as he plays football). Apparently, Ben Jones looks like “a touch of Leonardo DiCaprio, a hint of Prince William, the merest suggestion of Brad Pitt”. While admiring him from afar Jess thinks that he is definitely not like other boys and even after she isn’t so crazy about him anymore she more than once describes him as angelic or godlike.
Whenever he turns up in the story line he is smiling. Ben Jones’s smile is one of his defining features. It is usually crooked or slanty, but not unkind. Lovely, handsome, lazy and slow. It shows his laid-back nature and openness. He isn’t that kind of disappointing unlovable guy that the main character gets over in the end of the story, he is interesting by himself and very charismatic. Open and confident, but polite. He is silent most of the time, talking only “in his usual six-words-a-minute way”, but when he talks he talks sense. Ben thinks there are things more important than dates and crushes, but he notices quite hidden romantic feelings between Jess and her friend Fred. So he is “more perceptive than Jess herself” as she admitted. And closer to the end of the book Jess starts to see Ben more as a friend, than as a boyfriend.
While being gorgeous and handsome, this boy doesn’t try to be in the centre of attention. He is easy to embarrass and he is quiet, but he can’t bear silence or quarrelling between his friends, so more often than not he tries to break the silence or a budding fight with a sudden phrase, sometimes completely random. Jess called it “inability to cope with emotion”, but I think it might be an aspect of his main feature… It is how he behaves with his friends. “You’re a star, go for it. You’re, like, light years more intelligent than any of us,” Ben says to Jess, gives her advice and smiles at her instead of brushing her off like everyone else did. He is supportive of his friends, caring and encouraging.
And all that a bit reminds me of the show Miraculous: Les Aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir. Both the book and the show are very cute and discuss the topic of young love and teenagers’ problems. Jess’s crush is a little similar to Marinette’s as she describes Ben the same way Marinette describes Adrien: perfect. The boys themselves are similar, too. Ben Jones and Adrien Agreste are both blond, bright-eyed, athletic, kind, polite, supportive, etc.
Next… I may talk a lot about Ben, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like Jess. Jess Jordan is amazing! Actually, her character reminds me of the time when I was her age. I think I was quite weird when I was fifteen, too. Jess is witty, sarcastic, sometimes snarky, her imagination runs wild (she imagines men she knows as various animals and “what if” she and her friends were living in a Jane Austen’s novel), sometimes she gets some really questionable ideas (like when she decided to use minestrone-filled packets as bra inserts) and she talks to her boobs and to her teddy bear (whom she calls Rasputin). It is all these funny things that one would fondly remember, thinking how silly everything was back then.
And another interesting thing: My gay-sense kept tingling... Someone is gay in this story, someone is. Jess’s Dad? Totally. The guy is so gay, it seeps through the phone whenever he calls Jess. Ben Jones? You could ask me why I think about it…
It’s all because of that line of his:
“I’m not interested in any girls, yeah? Not in that way. I don’t want a girlfriend. I couldn’t, like, cope with it. No girl’s ever going to break my heart. Other stuff is so more important”.
Like, wow. Something to think about. He could be gay (Jess thought about it; and I wouldn’t put it past Sue Limb to make him gay, she DOES have teenage lesbians in her book). Or he could be asexual/aromantic, possible too, as possible him just being a late bloomer.
Conclusion!
Would I recommend this book to a friend? I would! I would gladly recommend it to non-English-speaking people who need more reading practice and understanding of British slang because there is a lot of it in the book, to teenagers and to people who like silly books that they are “too old to read” because everyone needs more good-natured silliness in their life.
November 15, 2020
This is a surprisingly funny book. I found it by going over the books translated into French by Laetitia Duvaux. The cover gives it away and the bio of Sue Limb shows she knows something about humor. So here is English humor that is considered funny by the French.
The events in this story about a 15 year old come across as realistic, it's her responses (and her dad's insane daily horoscopes) that make each chapter funny. She is intelligent but has too much imagination and too little ability to keep things in focus to completely manage things.
The events in this story about a 15 year old come across as realistic, it's her responses (and her dad's insane daily horoscopes) that make each chapter funny. She is intelligent but has too much imagination and too little ability to keep things in focus to completely manage things.
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