The Adrian Mole Diaries : The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 : The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole

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Summary: A Book about Love, Troubles and Friendships
Review: My mother has had a copy of this book for ages, and when I finally read it a few years ago I wanted to kick myself for not reading it sooner! I have read Adrian's account countless times since, because I just can't get enough of his crazy world. Perhaps what I appreciate most about this teenage boy survival story is the format. It is a great personal diary which Adrian keeps up on a daily basis. Adrian is so naive and oblivious and is at once completely lovable. This innocence or ignorance of his is probably what makes the book so humorous; he honestly has no idea why a girl would be offended if he compared her eyes to those of his dog! Townsend must have been a teenage boy in another life I always reckon; and being a girl myself, I have always found Adrian's trials and tribulations very entertaining and informative. The fact of the matter is, Sue Townsend has created a character with a life completely of his own. Adrian and his family and friends will always have a place in my heart. This book is a supreme resource for those interested in working-class Britain of the 1980s.
Sue Townsend has also produced books chronicling Adrian's adult years, which are also worth reading, but nothing compares with the diaries of Adrian's turbulent formulative teenage years. Another good Townsend book is The Queen and I, a fantasy which accounts the abdication of the royal family and their struggles as regular working class folks.