Friday, June 03, 2011

Book Review: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison

Book: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
Author: Louise Rennison
Published: 2009
Source: Local Library (downloaded onto my Nook!)

Georgia Nicolson is back, and so are all her fab mates. Not to mention the Luuuuurve God, and of course Dave the Laugh. And if both those lads are hanging about, you know Georgia's in turmoil. Because who wouldn't want a beautiful Italian like Masimo? He's, y'know, beautiful, and, um, Italian, and - oh, I've got it! He kisses like a dream. Although it must be said that when Georgia wants to laugh and hang about and feel most like herself, it's not Masimo she turns to, but instead Dave the Laugh. Hmmmmm. Odd, that.

Now Masimo wants to go live in London with his band. Should she ask him to give up the opportunity for musical famousosity and stay with her? Should she go with him? Or should she send him away to pursue his pop-star dream, with a stiff upper lip (and a gently quivering lower one)?

Possibly, there is a mysterious Option D. Although it's only mysterious if you are as thick as an extremely thick thing in Thicky-A-Gogo-Land.

Time: 1:35:22
Why I Wanted to Read It: I've been reading these books for years. One of my first reviews on this blog was Away Laughing on a Fast Camel. After the last one, however, I said, "Enough of this!" because the series was just going on and on and on. But this landed back on my list when Ms. Yingling mentioned it was the last one, and things actually got settled, and all really quite well. Plus, after Scars, I really needed to laugh like a mad laughing thing.

And I did. Oh, how I did. I fully expect the nice men with the white coats to turn up on my doorstep, called by the long-suffering neighbors. (It's okay, they know their way here quite well by now.) Georgia is in fine form, with all the silly dances, dirty jokes, and snarky commentary we've come to expect from her.

If I were one of the adults in her life, I might well strangle her. She's impulsive, snotty, irreverent, insensitive . . . in short, she's a fifteen-year-old girl, which is why she's so enormously appealing. Those moments when the basic goodness shines through, such as her patience with her sister Libby and her treatment of the first-formers who idolize her, make her someone you want to spend 150 pages with.

As for how the series wound up, I have to say, I knew it all along. As I said above, Georgia's appeal is that she's still a goofy, impulsive, silly teenager. Throughout the series, she's been trying to be fabulously cool and sophisticated for the sake of the older boys she dates. Which really is not her at all. Ending up with the boy who loves her when she's most herself is the best ending I could have picked in a million years.

I love recommending this series, and one day I will listen to them all on audio, because the writing is just made for reading aloud. Of course, given that I listen to audiobooks in my car, that could prove incredibly dangerous.

4 comments:

Ms. Yingling said...

I'm really looking forward to Withering Tights, if only to see if Rennison can write anything besides Georgia!

Laura said...

I listened to the first few of these on audio and loved them!

It's weird, I know I read at least part of this one, but my Library Thing doesn't show it. I have very vague memories of giving up on it halfway through, but... I wouldn't have done that, would I? Maybe I need to revisit it. Like you, I was a little tired of the series by book 9. Maybe after this long of a break...

Beth said...

I haven't read these yet, and now that I have a girl teetering on adolescence, I think I'll wait a bit. I'm afraid I won't laugh as much if the stuff hits too close to home. Oh well, they can adorn my TBR shelves a little longer.

Bibliovore said...

Hey, Ms Y! Bookshelves of Doom just posted a vair vair informative review of Withering Tights. It appears that the answer to your question is no-ish, but in a good way.

Laura, the tenth brings back the former Georgia glory with added bonus closure. Reeeeead iiiiiit!

Beth, would your daughter like it? Maybe you can read it together and assure her that you will never be like Georgia's mother.