Deep and Meaningful Diaries from Planet Janet

Planet Janet #1-2

by Dyan Sheldon

With a Mad Cow for a mother, an eccentric psychotherapist for a father, and a dweeble for a brother, thank goodness sixteen-year-old Janet Foley Bandry can confide in her diary. After all, she needs someone to talk to about entering the Dark Phase of her life. According to Janet, the DP involves dressing in black, listening to jazz when she can find the right radio station, and thinking about deep and meaningful things when she isn't thinking about boys, what color to dye her hair, or whether or not her nose piercing is infected.

Despite the DP, Janet's spirits lift with the end of the school year and the start of summer. But instead of enjoying her vacation, she has to find a Job, and what's worse, her best friend, Disha, has turned into a Love Zombie, deserting Janet for a gorgeous Australian. With a year so full of Turmoil and Suffering, only a Creative and Artistic Soul (and one trusty diary) can keep Janet's planet from spinning out of orbit!

Genres: Young Adult, Chick Lit

464 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Dyan Sheldon is the author of many novels for young adult readers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, which was made into a major motion picture. American by birth, she lives in North London.

Reviews

[Shayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I read in 3-4 days and considering it's pretty thick is a big accomplishment to me.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Safia Abdul for TeensReadToo.com

Janet Bandry is the hilarious, awkward teenager of PLANET JANET and the sequel, PLANET JANET IN ORBIT. These two books combine together to form the fully awesome DEEP AND MEANINGFUL DIARIES FROM PLANET JANET. This book, written by the author of CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, had me laughing from the first page to the last.

Janet's friends and family always sarcastically says Janet lives on her own weird planet. But to me, Janet seems like the everyday quirky best friend we all have or want to have. Janet is the girl with the nose ring who dyes her hair purple as a part of her year-long experimental "Dark Phase." She's also the self-centered girl who is boy crazy and doesn't understand anybody in her family (including her mother, whom she has nicknamed Mad Cow).

DEEP AND MEANINGFUL DIARIES FROM PLANET JANET follows a year of Janet's humorous life. In that time, she deals with a major fight with her best friend, develops numerous crushes, and even survives a clothing store robbery. Through it all, Janet remains strong, determined, and always with her awesome sense of humor intact.

Set in London, Janet's diary reminds of me of those from Bridget Jones and Georgia Nicolson. It contains the wonderful ramblings and hilarious insights that made both BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY and THE CONFESSIONS OF GEORGIA NICOLSON smash hits. So if you are looking for lots of laughs, then grab a copy of this book and enter into Janet's Planet!

[Tanya (Girl Plus Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of teen/young adult fiction. I read a fair share of it and much of it is good. Unfornately, this wasn't one. A blurb on the cover declared it to be a cross between Bridget Jones's Diary and The Secret Diary of Adrain Mole, Aged 13-3/4. I've read both of those and this was nowhere near as funny and clever. Yes, teenagers are self-absorbed creatures, and that often adds to the humor, but this just wasn't all that funny. More repetitive and boring. Yawn.

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out as three stars for me, I admit it was rather slow goings in parts. But it's basically another british teen in the midst of teen angst writing a journal ( a la Georgia Nicholson) which I am a sucker for. And like the Georgia Nicholson series (by Louise Rennison), there were several moments I laughed out loud.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a slow start but it grew on me.

[Camila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that Janet was hysterical! I could not put this book down!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. A must-read!

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember this light read as being surprisingly funny and I would recommend it to anyone needing a few laughs.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good (if predictable), but very, very long.

[Alysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a slow start. Quick read. Some of the characters were intriguing, others i just didnt really notice. Justin, the brother, was a stand out character for me and id have loved a bit more of him.