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Puberty Blues
After the Blues: What Debbie Did Next
Now an adult, Debbie from Puberty Blues and her girlfriends reveal what women really say when men aren't around. Oh dear . . .!
We are some years on now from Puberty Blues. Debbie and friends know for sure that girlfriends are the only people you can rely on to be supportive and uplifting when you make the right decisions, and the wrong ones, over and over again. And even though they know that there are only two things wrong with men – everything they say and everything they do – why oh why do they keep falling for the wrong guys, and saying yes when they mean no?
Hooray for the regular girls' night out, the one evening you can't stand your girlfriends up if a better offer comes along.
Kathy Lette has returned to her second novel Girls Night Out, written when she was 20, and given it a complete rewrite.
We are some years on now from Puberty Blues. Debbie and friends know for sure that girlfriends are the only people you can rely on to be supportive and uplifting when you make the right decisions, and the wrong ones, over and over again. And even though they know that there are only two things wrong with men – everything they say and everything they do – why oh why do they keep falling for the wrong guys, and saying yes when they mean no?
Hooray for the regular girls' night out, the one evening you can't stand your girlfriends up if a better offer comes along.
Kathy Lette has returned to her second novel Girls Night Out, written when she was 20, and given it a complete rewrite.
- GenresFiction
288 pages, Paperback
Published November 27, 2017
13 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Kathy Lette
62 books244 followersKathy Lette divides her time between being a full time writer,
demented mother (now there's a tautology) and trying to find a shopping trolley that doesn't have a clubbed wheel.
Kathy first achieved succés de scandale as a teenager with the novel Puberty Blues, now a major motion picture.
After several years as a singer with the Salami Sisters and a newspaper columnist in Sydney and New York (collected in the book "Hit and Ms") and as a television sitcom writer for Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles, her novels, "Puberty Blues" (1979) "Girls Night Out" (1988), "The Llama Parlour" (1991), "Foetal Attraction" (1993), "Mad Cows" (1996),"Altar Ego" (1998) "Nip'N'Tuck" (2001), "Dead Sexy" (2003) and "How To Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints)" (2006) became international best-sellers. Kathy Lette's plays include "Grommits", "Wet Dreams", "Perfect Mismatch" and "I'm So Happy For You I Really Am".
She lives in London with her husband and two children and has just finished a stint as writer in Residence at London's Savoy Hotel.
Kathy says that the best thing about being a writer is that you get to work in your jammies all day, drink heavily on the job and have affairs and call it research! (Although her husband says he should have the affair as it would give her a better book!)
demented mother (now there's a tautology) and trying to find a shopping trolley that doesn't have a clubbed wheel.
Kathy first achieved succés de scandale as a teenager with the novel Puberty Blues, now a major motion picture.
After several years as a singer with the Salami Sisters and a newspaper columnist in Sydney and New York (collected in the book "Hit and Ms") and as a television sitcom writer for Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles, her novels, "Puberty Blues" (1979) "Girls Night Out" (1988), "The Llama Parlour" (1991), "Foetal Attraction" (1993), "Mad Cows" (1996),"Altar Ego" (1998) "Nip'N'Tuck" (2001), "Dead Sexy" (2003) and "How To Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints)" (2006) became international best-sellers. Kathy Lette's plays include "Grommits", "Wet Dreams", "Perfect Mismatch" and "I'm So Happy For You I Really Am".
She lives in London with her husband and two children and has just finished a stint as writer in Residence at London's Savoy Hotel.
Kathy says that the best thing about being a writer is that you get to work in your jammies all day, drink heavily on the job and have affairs and call it research! (Although her husband says he should have the affair as it would give her a better book!)
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 17, 2017
I remember reading Puberty Blues in the late 80s and loving it, then reading it again a couple of years ago and feeling that its punch was rather dated and that I was rather too old to appreciate it anymore. I did, however, really enjoy the TV series that ran for two seasons, and it was that, more than the original book, that steered me towards giving After the Blues a whirl. Unfortunately, it was a bit hit and miss for me.
While there were some definite laugh out loud bits, much of the book just tried too hard. It was also very disjointed, which is why I’m referring to it as a book, rather than a novel. In her introduction to After the Blues, Kathy mentions revisiting her second novel, Girls’ Night Out, as a means of continuing Debbie’s story. I took that to mean that there were parts of that novel inspired by Puberty Blues, but I see after the fact that she seems to have just worked Girls’ Night Out into a new book with a couple of extra additions either side and repackaged it as After the Blues. I find this quite disappointing and somewhat misleading, but I haven’t ever read Girls’ Night Out so I can’t be sure to the extent of its replication within this book. Needless to say, I’ve never been a fan of rewrites, but this wasn’t indicated in the blurb on the book itself, which differs significantly from the Goodreads description included above.
All this aside, in terms of content/story, I wasn’t keen on what Debbie did next. Quite honestly, she seemed to deliberately choose to be a waste of space, and I found myself in a state of incredulity rather than being able to just settle back and laugh at her ‘antics’. I was also slightly confused as to her best friend’s identity, no longer Sue, but a girl called Sarah who really was Sue but with a new name. Sarah/Sue didn’t have a huge part to play in this book, but even so, each time she was mentioned, I had to do a quick think about who Debbie was referring to. Those kind of inconsistencies are a bit distracting and make me wonder, why not just leave Sarah as Sue? Sarah/Sue also didn’t behave in a way that was consistent with the original Sue, so overall, this character was a botch job.
After the Blues has a very outdated feel to it, far more than what I felt when re-reading Puberty Blues. There was just too much drug taking, stealing, and dole bludging to be truly authentic and I find it utterly unbelievable that every man in Australia during the early 80s was a chauvinistic Neanderthal. Some stories are better left where they originally end, and for me, After the Blues hasn’t done Debbie any favours. Read this if you’re a dead set Puberty Blues fan, but don’t be disappointed if you’re disappointed.
After the Blues is book 75 in my 2017 Australian Women Writers Challenge.
While there were some definite laugh out loud bits, much of the book just tried too hard. It was also very disjointed, which is why I’m referring to it as a book, rather than a novel. In her introduction to After the Blues, Kathy mentions revisiting her second novel, Girls’ Night Out, as a means of continuing Debbie’s story. I took that to mean that there were parts of that novel inspired by Puberty Blues, but I see after the fact that she seems to have just worked Girls’ Night Out into a new book with a couple of extra additions either side and repackaged it as After the Blues. I find this quite disappointing and somewhat misleading, but I haven’t ever read Girls’ Night Out so I can’t be sure to the extent of its replication within this book. Needless to say, I’ve never been a fan of rewrites, but this wasn’t indicated in the blurb on the book itself, which differs significantly from the Goodreads description included above.
All this aside, in terms of content/story, I wasn’t keen on what Debbie did next. Quite honestly, she seemed to deliberately choose to be a waste of space, and I found myself in a state of incredulity rather than being able to just settle back and laugh at her ‘antics’. I was also slightly confused as to her best friend’s identity, no longer Sue, but a girl called Sarah who really was Sue but with a new name. Sarah/Sue didn’t have a huge part to play in this book, but even so, each time she was mentioned, I had to do a quick think about who Debbie was referring to. Those kind of inconsistencies are a bit distracting and make me wonder, why not just leave Sarah as Sue? Sarah/Sue also didn’t behave in a way that was consistent with the original Sue, so overall, this character was a botch job.
After the Blues has a very outdated feel to it, far more than what I felt when re-reading Puberty Blues. There was just too much drug taking, stealing, and dole bludging to be truly authentic and I find it utterly unbelievable that every man in Australia during the early 80s was a chauvinistic Neanderthal. Some stories are better left where they originally end, and for me, After the Blues hasn’t done Debbie any favours. Read this if you’re a dead set Puberty Blues fan, but don’t be disappointed if you’re disappointed.
After the Blues is book 75 in my 2017 Australian Women Writers Challenge.
December 8, 2017
Really quite disappointed with this one. Puberty Blues is a favorite (the book, movie and tv show), so I was very excited to see this in the bookstore.
My big gripe is that it’s not really a continuation of the book. It’s random chapters, many of them about new characters. I couldn’t give a rats ass about Soula, Ro, Mouche etc. I was interested in reading about Debbie and Sue, and Sue is suddenly Sarah, not even sure if she’s meant to be the same character and the author just felt like a name change. (As you do..,). I don’t get that she was, though, as I can’t see Sue behaving like she did.
Debbie didn’t ring true either. Okay, she’s Kathy Latte’s character, she can do what she wants with her, but I’m going to pretend this book doesn’t exist. I hated the girls being estranged all through this and I hated the punk and hippie phases.
The only reason this book got two stars instead of one was the inclusion of Frieda’s chapter. Frieda was a character that always stuck with me. I was sad to see how her life went, but it felt s bit more real to me than the others.
This book was disjointed and all over the place. Not the Puberty Blues I was so excited to revisit.
My big gripe is that it’s not really a continuation of the book. It’s random chapters, many of them about new characters. I couldn’t give a rats ass about Soula, Ro, Mouche etc. I was interested in reading about Debbie and Sue, and Sue is suddenly Sarah, not even sure if she’s meant to be the same character and the author just felt like a name change. (As you do..,). I don’t get that she was, though, as I can’t see Sue behaving like she did.
Debbie didn’t ring true either. Okay, she’s Kathy Latte’s character, she can do what she wants with her, but I’m going to pretend this book doesn’t exist. I hated the girls being estranged all through this and I hated the punk and hippie phases.
The only reason this book got two stars instead of one was the inclusion of Frieda’s chapter. Frieda was a character that always stuck with me. I was sad to see how her life went, but it felt s bit more real to me than the others.
This book was disjointed and all over the place. Not the Puberty Blues I was so excited to revisit.
February 26, 2018
What a disappointment! I was looking forward to an easy read that had me laughing, instead it was like reading a diary of a 14 year old......obviously Debbie didn’t mature and who the hell is Sarah? Did Kathy Lette forget the best friend was Sue? Or did Sue change her name and they forgot to tell us? OK, in all fairness I did laugh but I could count the times on one hand.....
September 23, 2024
I’m sorry but this is a hard no. I had high hopes as I love puberty blues but this was horrific to read. I think I lost a few brain cells
August 20, 2025
This book was a fun read and I loved the TV show I will read the others and I should have before lol
December 20, 2019
Underwhelming in every sense of the word.
June 29, 2022
This sucked in the beginning - it was so clearly written by a middle aged woman reflecting on her “wild child” past, and seemed so false. The punk phase chapter was a SLOG to get through.
But as I read on, I realised I liked the other perspectives a lot more…so maybe I just didn’t like Debbie’s character voice. I found the other characters so much more interesting and their relationships so much more compelling.
I especially liked Frieda’s chapter, and how we got to see how damaged her self image is, and how damaging misogyny, poverty and sexism can be to a young woman. She was left behind and knew no different her whole life than being used. I really felt for her.
Decent book, and nice to read after Puberty Blues. But I don’t think I’ll re read. It was just OK.
But as I read on, I realised I liked the other perspectives a lot more…so maybe I just didn’t like Debbie’s character voice. I found the other characters so much more interesting and their relationships so much more compelling.
I especially liked Frieda’s chapter, and how we got to see how damaged her self image is, and how damaging misogyny, poverty and sexism can be to a young woman. She was left behind and knew no different her whole life than being used. I really felt for her.
Decent book, and nice to read after Puberty Blues. But I don’t think I’ll re read. It was just OK.
February 21, 2018
Started reading with great expectation and expected to laugh. A lot. Instead I found myself rushing through it so I can move on to the next book. The change of style in the second half confused me. Appeared to change from a story about Debbie to a bunch of confusing and sad short stories. I did enjoy Debbie going back to surf and it was obvious she had matured. Not sure what it was about in the end.
January 26, 2018
Follow up to the excellent and gritty Puberty Blues. Unfortunately this was a disappointment.
Debbie left home with Sue/Sarah and met up with Garry. Had a falling out with both of them and basically moved around a lot, meeting a lot of weird people, before finally patching things up with Garry and Sue/Sarah. The end.
Struggled to finish this one.
Debbie left home with Sue/Sarah and met up with Garry. Had a falling out with both of them and basically moved around a lot, meeting a lot of weird people, before finally patching things up with Garry and Sue/Sarah. The end.
Struggled to finish this one.
July 24, 2018
I enjoy most of Kathy Lette's books but this one was pretty disappointing.
I was an 80's girl and I'm so glad I didn't grow up in in Sydney, I don't think I would have survived! I never came across anything like described in this book (thank God)!
Yes why was Sue's name changed to Sarah? Do yourself a favour .... read something else 8)
I was an 80's girl and I'm so glad I didn't grow up in in Sydney, I don't think I would have survived! I never came across anything like described in this book (thank God)!
Yes why was Sue's name changed to Sarah? Do yourself a favour .... read something else 8)
August 24, 2020
This is My Career Goes Bung if Miles Franklin had been born 100 years later in Western Sydney. The first quarter of the book is hilarious. The acerbic take-downs of Australian patriarchy are punchy, pointed and very funny. The sharp observations show off Lette's best skills as a writer. Her ability to stand up to chauvinistic bullshit and confidently tear it down, not worrying that it will make her ostracised is very similar to what Franklin did in MBC. But just as Miles Franklin's sequel to Brilliant Career gets off to a great start then suddenly runs out of steam and struggles to find a plot to drive the book on, so does Lette's sequel to Puberty Blues. I really liked the way Lette decided to explore what happened to herself and Gabrielle Carey (who fell out and separated after PB) through this book, and the way she so honestly decides to describe the seedy underbelly of Australian culture. Like PB, this book will shock anyone with a quiet sensibility, including any readers of the first book who were hoping for a happily ever after story or at least a second romp with the same two besties. No, Lette is more brutal and honest than that. Just as PB showed us how difficult it can be being a teenager, ATB shows that the transition into adulthood can be just as fraught with stupidity and struggle to find identity. I just wish Lette had given it a bit more cohesion as it could have been brilliant. 5 stars for the first 50 pages but after that, it becomes harder going.
December 20, 2024
Interesting and enjoyed but not seeing this as canon. I love puberty blues ssoooooo much and this just wasn’t it. I looked at it as like completely different set of characters and Debbie was a different person because it all just felt a bit ridiculous.
The setting of Australian 80s was super interesting to me tho
The author did sue SO dirty. Sue would NEVER asleep with Gary.
I like the girl power theme though
The setting of Australian 80s was super interesting to me tho
The author did sue SO dirty. Sue would NEVER asleep with Gary.
I like the girl power theme though
July 2, 2018
While I enjoyed this book, I found the beginning more so than the second half. A follow up to Puberty Blues, it tells us the story of Deb, whom we met in the first book & her friends. Told in distinctive Kathy Lette style, the reader should not be disappointed. As with most sequels though, the original is always the best.
January 31, 2020
I have always enjoyed Kathy Lette but this disappointed. There were still amusing moments but it felt dated and many of the characters- including the main character Debbie- had little to commend them. One to miss!
August 26, 2020
Very Australian, funny, also embarassing that Australian men are descibed as what they are, which I am not. An interesting read from an era when men were yobo's and women were finding there way to be more comfortable with having there say.
February 26, 2021
I really wanted to like this, because I'm a fan of Kathy Lette. She is after all, the Aussie girl come good. (And) im partial to her type of humour. But I found this a difficult read to get through. The writing is appallingly bad. Sorry.
September 2, 2025
The worst, I can't believe Kathy lette actually published this? Where is Sue and why has she been replaced with the name Sarah? Debbie broke up with Gary and got with Wayne but in this book her and Gary never broke up? So many inconsistencies. Kathy lette you're a shit writer
January 1, 2018
No comparison to its predecessor but it was a fun beach read.
February 4, 2018
This book is entertaining, although it is more of a Kathy Lette rant than a novel.
November 13, 2018
No way. This book was such a major letdown! I couldn't even get through it.
January 10, 2019
Dreadful
February 6, 2021
Debbie and Sue/Sarah (?) Should have had more adventures together. So many confusing characters and chapters.
October 6, 2021
Not often I don't finish a book, read about 80 pages and called it quits. Guess I am much more conservative than I ever thought.
March 23, 2022
Bit disappointed as it seems there were some 'rose coloured glasses' on during the writting of this. Bit disassociated from Puberty Blues
December 19, 2022
2.5
It wasn't as great as Puberty Blues, but I still enjoyed the nostalgia romp
It wasn't as great as Puberty Blues, but I still enjoyed the nostalgia romp
September 13, 2021
This book treads an uncomfortable line between memoir and fiction, tripping over into the fiction side through major inconsistencies with the original Puberty Blues. As an older writer this time, one might expect a bit more nuance and compassion in the characterisations; instead, a certain amount of venom leaves one wondering how close these female friendships really are. Male characters are one dimensional and all tarred with the same bitter brush. Unlike Puberty Blues, this book was a bit of a mish-mash of styles and a lot of the attempted humour fell flat for me, however a few anecdotes and chapters stood out from the rest. Not entirely lacking in entertainment value.
April 30, 2024
Loved the puberty blues series so thought this was going to be a winner for myself. Unfortunately, I was left with disappointment as I felt the storyline was quite boring apart from her best friend sleeping with her boyfriend, it was uneventful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2018
You needs to be Australian to understand this book as it is filled with colloquialisms. However if you are wanting a challenge..... It was light reading which was great for an over stressed work brain! My heart went out to Frieda in Puberty Blues. Kathy I cannot believe what you did to her in this book. I think it may have ruined my experience. My gut tells me your audience will agree with me.
Read
March 8, 2018Made it about half way through. The introduction and prologue were the best bits of this.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews