GoodReads Summary: Fourteen-year-old Hattie Moore doesn't actually know who her father is - but that's the least of her problems. How ca she become a TOTAL HOTNESS GODDESS when Miss Gorgeous Knickers at school hates her and no one fancies her because she has no breast? And her family are an actual nightmare. Her unbelievably annoying brother is EVIL and on top of that, her gran is a TOTAL mental who may be texting rude jokes to just about EVERYONE in the world. Including her dentist.
Hattie's diary of this tumultuous year is an absolutely hilarious account of the ups and downs of teenage life including a dating bogey phobia, near death from biscotti and a home-made breast-growing machine.
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A fun and frothy read littered with British humour!
When I received this for review my first thought was 'Oh, what a cute cover!' and then I read the blurb and thought "hmm, sounds a bit young for me" but despite this I decided to give it a go. Sometimes I need a book that can just make me laugh, and OMG! Is This Actually My Life? is exactly that book. Written in diary format it follows the ups and down of 14 year old Hattie's life as she goes on a journey of self discovery.
Hattie has two brilliant best friends Dimple and Jen. Dimple is a smart and beautiful Indian girl who is obsessed with chocolate, and Jen is an emo who loves Vampires and being Spiritual. It's hilarious the amount of crazy antics these three get up to. The scene I found most amusing is when Hattie has a crush on this guy she nicknames "McFittie". After much conferring with the girls as to how to attract him she decides to go with Jen's idea of "eating sexily" in front of him, but the Biscotti she's eating goes down the wrong way and she ends up chocking and spitting it out all over the place! *giggles*
OMG! Is This Actually My Life! features a wonderful set of quirky characters. There's Hattie's totally 'mental' nan, her 'evil' brother, and of course her mum and her dad, but the one I think deserves a special mention is Goose "the guy next door". He has a crush on Hattie, but she's completely oblivious to the the way he feels. He was so cute, I just wanted to hug him!
I love how Earl incorporates popular culture and British culture/slang into the book. There are references to Primark, Jeremy Kyle, Harry Potter, Eastenders and phrases like 'you doughnut', 'is a total mental', and 'chav' are thrown in too. It just made Hattie all the more relatable when she mentioned things like Facebook, x-factor, and Zumba.
OMG! Is This Actually My Life? works great as a stand-alone, but from the way things ended there is plenty of room for a sequel. If there is I'll be over the moon, but if not I'll still be happy as this is a book I know I'll be re-reading!
Rae Earl is also the author of My Mad Fat Diary a book (based on her life) that has been turned into a TV show and is currently airing on E4.
Rating:
You know what, I think I might reconsider this! I didn't have the best luck with the other two books Walker send out with this, and like you said, it does sound like it might be quite young, but after your review, I am willing to give it a shot. :) British humour and fun characters - I'm sold. Great review, Renu!
ReplyDeleteLOL! That does sound like a cute book. I would have thought it'd be a bit too young for me as well, but sometimes we need something light and silly. Lovely review!
ReplyDeleteThis definitely sounds like a super cute read! I don't normally read books with younger main characters so I won't be reading this one, but still, lovely review!
ReplyDeleteOh, good! I just received this for review the other day and I knew nothing at all about it. You've made me very excited to read it. Although contemporary is rarely my thing, this sounds like an excellent read.
ReplyDeleteGReat review!
This sounds really cute, Renu. And I love British culture in my books. So much fun. Great review. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the blurb, I thought the book sounded kind of young. It seems like it's a cute read though. Great review, Renu!
ReplyDeleteAw, this sounds like such a cute and fun read! I'll be adding this to my list ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is just the book I'll skip if I see it in library...the cover, the blurb everything is so childish. But boy does it sound cute from your review! :) Now I hope I'll get a chance to read it :)
ReplyDeleteI love quirky characters and a story that can make me laugh. Lovely review.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading,
Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog
I have always been reluctant to read diaries, the only one I have enjoyed is Salmon Fishing in the Yemen from the film. I find them hard to grasp the concept of the book for some reason. But... this sounds like a very fun read that's for sure! And the title actually made me laugh out loud! Haha! :D Lovely review, Renu.
ReplyDeleteI love this review! You had me at British humor and culture ;) This sounds so cute! Thanks for sharing your lovely thoughts - I'm definitely adding this to my TBR! Happy Reading :)
ReplyDeleteSounds fun! I've seen the ads for My Mad Fat Diary, I'm hoping to see an episode on catch-up...I haven't watched TV in ages. Lovely review, Renu!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really cute and fun! And near death from biscotti? That's hilarious :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI thought the exact same thing haha! I saw the cover and read the blurb and then your review and it made me laugh. But it sounds really cute :) And also a bit like the Georgia Nicolson books (have you read those?). I loved those a few years ago. Lovely review :)
ReplyDelete