Review: How to Build a Girl

Price: £ 14.99 Hard Back

Publisher: Ebury

Meet Johanna/Dolly. She is trying to work out who she is, what she wants and where she is going in the crazy teenage world of council estate Wolverhampton in the 1990s.

This is the book I have been waiting for my entire life! THIS IS THE FEMALE ADRIAN MOLE. But it is the female AM with guts and for girls who remember the 90s and have had a hell of a quandary in finding out exactly who they are. 

The whole book is amazing (yes I'm going to gush a lot). The story is wonderful, the writing style is glorious and the characters are incredibly real. I laughed, I got upset, I got incredibly caught up in the whole thing that I never wanted the book to end and I feel like I know them all now it's over. This book actually made me laugh out loud in work, on the tube, on the train, in the garden on my own...that is no mean feat my friends. I was even awake at 7am on Saturday morning because I wanted to finish it in peace before Boy Geek woke up and we had to go and do DIY.

I  had one massive book hangover after finishing it. I still can't stop thinking about the bloody thing and I finished it 2 days ago. I keep wondering what Johanna is doing now, what Krissi is doing now...I am convinced these people are real! This book has made a real impact and I am over joyed I have read it. 

I think I'm going to leave it there as I'm afraid I'm going to gush even more and I don't want to say tooooo much as I really don't want to give anything away as this is a true delight from start to finish.

OOo oOOO, I do have to say that I really want to know just how much really is based on CM's life. I know the loose parts about her but I do want to know if the people she meets are just exaggerated or slightly morphed versions of people from her own past...or are they fiction. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Happy Reading

BG

:-D

P.S. It was given to me as a birthday present by Fickle Mate who said, 'before I give you your birthday present, I warn you, I can't remember if you really hate or really love Caitlin Moran!' I love her so it's fine. Also, it's my first read off the Chapter 5 Summer list as this book is Hot Off The Press.