Rating: 
Summary: Delightful and poignant
Review: This was one of the best books I have ever read. If you are not used to the dialogues and accents used, then you might want to think of someone speaking the words as you read them--it helped me a bit. It may seem confusing or fragmented the first time you read it, but it's well worth reading again, and makes more sense the second time round besides. It really is a remarkable work of fiction--like you are reading the girls' diaries or looking over their shoulders. And, I definitely agree with the reviewers who said it would make a greatr movie, but only if it is filmed verbatim as written. Hurray for Warner! For this is truly one of the best works of our era.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful--The Best Book I Have Read in a Long Time!!!
Review: This was one of the best books I have ever read. If you are not used to the dialogues and accents used, then you might want to think of someone speaking the words as you read them--it helped me a bit. It may seem confusing or fragmented the first time you read it, but it's well worth reading again, and makes more sense the second time round besides. It really is a remarkable work of fiction--like you are reading the girls' diaries or looking over their shoulders. And, I definitely agree with the reviewers who said it would make a greatr movie, but only if it is filmed verbatim as written. Hurray for Warner! For this is truly one of the best works of our era.
Rating: 
Summary: A study in dispair
Review: This work is as poignant a social comment as any I have recently read. This novel turns an intimate spotlight on the plight of bored, rudderless Scottish schoolgirls trapped in a featureless port town whose only respite from the numbing drudgery of their existence is achieved through an astonishingly excessive alcohol intake and sex acts devoid even of affection. The British quality press all say how funny this book is, with epithets like "wickedly funny" (Independent) and "riotously funny" (The Times). Yes there are some amusing slapstick scenes but this book is not purely a comedy. This in an excellent novel. One starts with a certain mild distaste as one is introduced to the main protagonists but as time and the story progress one is drawn in to a realization of how these girls have been abandoned by our social culture and put-upon by their draconian and misguided school. This leads to a certain affection for these individuals, and their dispair (though most do not acknowledge it) becomes very tangible. Perhaps the most telling observation is from a young lad who befriends one of the girls whose thought is "These chicks are the damaged goods." Through the use of quirky spelling and a startling lack of punctuation (which take a little getting used to), the author captures with remarkable accuracy the girls' brash but amusing dialogue and the reader is left in no doubt that he is absolutely in touch with the sub-culture of that environment. The girls meet their situation with riotous rebellion and a dry humour that is very amusing, if not touching. Especially well drawn is the discovery of a true sense of love in one of the girls, an emotion clearly previously unknown to her and one which leads her to a very courageous public stance. This is the first book by Alan Warner that I have read. It certainly won't be the last.
Rating:
Summary: A Brutally Truthful Masterpiece
Review: Warner has written teenage girls better than any other flimsy novelist out today! He goes into the deepest, darkest corners of the teenager's mind to explore sex, lesbianism, death, pregnancy, poverty and disease. His humour brightens the pages of angst and makes the book a wonderful read. A grand mixture of drama and comedy! I reccomend this book to ANY teenage girl who thinks she is 'the only one'.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and entertaining
Review: Wow. The girls in The Sopranos are both wild and endearing. The author handles their exploits in a masterful way -- the reader understands what they are doing is plausible, even though you wouldn't think these girls are just any Scottish girls you might meet. They are all well-rounded and satisfying characters -- and whether they're screaming obscenities in a McDonald's bathroom or prowling for men or discussing sexual topics -- you will be rooting for their success. You will nearly forget the real event which brings them to the big city, and believe they are there for no other reason than to fulfill their own desires. This book is screaming to be made into a movie. While it doesn't read like a screenplay, the characters and events are so vivid it seems cruel to not show this story visually. The writing takes a bit of getting used to (unless you can automatically adjust to Scottish slang and [Scottish]-phonetically spelled words), you'll find yourself reading this with a Scottish narrating voice in no time. Once you become accustomed to the language, this is quite a quick and highly enjoyable read.
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