Confessions of Georgia Nicolson- Louise Rennison

            I read this series when I had an intense English class filled with big, adult-type literature, and I grabbed this in order to have a fun book series to contrast with what I was reading at the time.  Fun is the best way to describe this series.

            The series starts with Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, and ends with Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?, which should give readers some idea of the fun and flirty adventure they will travel on.  Readers will follow the life of British teen, Georgia Nicholson, and hear about her every day life, her friends, which she titles “the Ace Gang”, her love interests, and her hopelessly uncool family.   For anyone unfamiliar, or simply incredibly interested (myself), in the British slang all the cool kids are using, the back of each book contains a dictionary for anything in the book deemed foreign to American readers.  This was the first thing I read when I started each book, and I found it fun each time.

            This in not necessarily a book for those looking for some challenging reading material.  It would, however, be wonderful for anyone reading for the joy of reading.  It’s fun, it’s quick, and it’s interesting.  It’s definitely a young adult book though, filled with obsessions over make-up and confusion over boys.

            I would be happy to recommend this to anyone who wants to have a good time through young adult literature.

The Tim Woodman of Oz- L. Frank Baum

            I originally read this in an illustrated book from the children’s section of my local library at age 10.  Years later, when I bought volumes 1 & 2 of “The Oz Chronicles”, I reread it, and was equally entertained both times.  I read this before I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that the movie is based on.  The movie alone was enough background information to understand and enjoy The Tin Woodman of Oz.

            Oz is a much bigger and stranger place than we were exposed to in the movies.  It’s full of interesting characters including inflatable colonies and green monkeys.  We are led through this world by the familiar character, the Tin Woodman.  We get a lot more of his background story, and he becomes just as lovable as the character I remembered from my childhood. I always love extra development of known characters, and I wasn’t disappointed.

            Without giving too much away, through the story we learn how the Tin Woodman came to be, hear how it complicated his love life, and see the measures he is willing to take to get it back. The book is full of humor, drama, action, and romance, and I enjoyed it just as much as a child as I did as an adult.

            Anyone that enjoyed the trip through Oz with Dorothy and Toto is sure to love a second go with the Tin Woodman, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.