Limb, Sue. 2005. GIRL, 15, CHARMING BUT INSANE. New York: Delacorte Press, 2004.
The title, GIRL, 15, CHARMING BUT INSANE, refers to a spoof dating ad that our protagonist, Jess Jordan, writes one class period in lieu of doing her school assignment. Jess is your average teenage girl, with a crush on a boy who is perfect in her eyes, a best friend who is beautiful, blonde and good in school, and a boy who’s been her other best friend for years, but now she’s confused about whether she wants him to be more.
GIRL, 15, was simply hilarious in some parts! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and hated to put it down. This is book one in a trilogy, and there is even a short prequel in print that features Jess and her friends before the events of this novel take place. The story is told completely from Jess’s third person point of view. She wants to be a comedienne when she grows up and you can see why because her “voice” is definitely humorous for the most part. She gets herself into some pretty embarrassing situations and her reactions to those are realistic. I felt embarrassed for her! There was one time that I recall where I wanted to shout at her, “just say what really happened!”, but it was just the one and for the most part, I felt she dealt with her problems as best she could.
Though the book is set in England, it doesn’t really deter at all from the story. There were no obscure slang words to decipher. The events of the novel moved along at a good pace, and the ending leaves you with a cliffhanger that will undoubtedly be resolved in the sequel, GIRL, (NEARLY) 16, ABSOLUTE TORTURE. GIRL, 15, received generally positive reviews, including one by Amy Patrick in School Library Journal who praises the characters for their charm, and recommends the novel to fans of Meg Cabot, Louise Rennison, and others “who like heroines who have a little vinegar to go with their sugar.”
Reference List:
Patrick, Amy. 2004. Review of Girl, 15, Charming but Insane, by Sue Limb. School Library Journal.
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