Diary Of A Chav: 1: Trainers v Tiaras: Book 1

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There is much to enjoy in this exaggerated (one can only hope) version of how life is seen through the eyes of Shiraz and her mates, most of whom are similarly and wonderfully labelled. When she's not writing comedy Grace is to be found 'faffing about on the Internet' or 'faffing about in the garden or kitchen' or 'just 'faffing about generally. When I picked up this book at the library, my first thought was: This book is either going to be an epic disaster or hilarious.

But she and her best friend Carrie go to a school frequently referred to as "Superchav Academy" and her mother seems put out by Shiraz' sister, Cava-Sue, who is attempting to better herself by pursuing A-levels at an arts college. She knows she's going to have to have a few words with Wesley about their future as he's planning all sorts himself and it isn't fair. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.Shiraz, Cava-Sue and Murphy are siblings growing up in a rough area of Essex, all attending ‘Superchav Academy’. Wes and Sooz are finished and it's not long before he's a regular fixture round at 34 Thundersley Road - much to Diane Wood's delight. YALSA has favorably reviewed the series' first book, stating "Shiraz’s hilarious adventures and misadventures also have a serious side, as she deals with family, stereotypes, and relationships, while trying to figure out just what it is she really wants out of life. Soon she's writing off for college applications and spending the rest of her time trailing after Carrie Draper, who's hellbent on infiltrating the celebrity circuit. There are many positive messages to be had, but I suspect the 'foreign' lingo may be a tad incomprehensible to some antipodean youth - the book obviously being designed for the English market.

Dysfunctional family check, unlikeable but intriguing characters check, nuevo writing style that's not quite right but works check. She dresses like all the chavs and acts like them too - so the back of the book was really misleading to me.But it balances nicely on the fine line between satire and a genuine story that cares about its characters. Which we've seen - Jeff Foxworthy has a whole slew of "redneck" books, about which, obviously, the less said the better. Despite diary entries being traditionally deposits for someone’s most innermost thoughts, I rarely felt like I was inside Shiraz’s private life.