The Secret Diary of Adrain Mole aged 13 3/4

Advantages: Hilarious
Disadvantages: not a long book - would have loved it to have been longer

...I had read Adrian Mole when I was younger but couldnt really remember it so I decided to give it another go. especially when I realised there are other books in the series. I am so glad I did as there are things in the book that I dont think I would have "got" as a child. He has got to be one of the funniest characters I have ever read about in a a fiction book. He is innocent and wise, observant and obsessed with himself, dumb and a genius. Adrian lets the reader peep into his world through his diary. Aged 13 3/4 he strongly feels he is a 'misunderstood intellectual' and spends most of his time reading. He spends some of his time taking care of a stubborn old man called Bert Baxter & his dog Sabre. He also complains of being malnourished and blames his parents for all his pimples. It upsets him when his mother leaves him...

leet1978 27.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 - Sue Townsend

Adrian Mole Grows Up

Advantages: Satirical look at modern life
Disadvantages: Adrian Mole doesnt work as an adult character

...books. Adrian Mole will be in his 40s now and you can imagine him bumbling through life as a rather pitiable character whose dreams will never be fulfilled. Lets hope that The Lost Diaries really is the last book published in the series. The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 by Sue Townsend (ISBN 07181548940 is currently available from Amazon.co.uk for £6.59....

wigglylittleworm 03.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 - Sue Townsend

Sometimes I'm glad I'm not 13 any more!

Advantages: funny without trying to be, some relatable teenage experiences
Disadvantages: the eighties references might seem a bit dated to the modern teenager

...I once read that a good rule to apply when writing funny material is, "Never be afraid to make your audience laugh at the expense of your main character", and whether it is Adrian's belief that he is brighter than average or Sue Townsend's wonderful way of putting her character's thoughts down on paper I don't know, but between the two of them they conjure up some priceless lines. Having borrowed some classic literature from the library, Adrian comments (apparently seriously), "I read a bit of Pride and Prejudice, but it was very old-fashioned. I think Jane Austen should write something a bit more modern". I think that is possibly what is so wonderful about The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. I have bought or borrowed every single Mole book that Sue Townsend ever wrote, but as he gets older through the course of the series he obviously...

KateHurst 02.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 - Sue Townsend

If you love one of life's triers, go and find Adrian Mole

Advantages: Would suit teenagers and adults alike
Disadvantages: Today's teenagers might have to look up the 1980s references

...worries that any teenager might have. The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole is about the same age as me - published in 1984, the short novel follows on from Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4, and covers his life between April 1982 and June 1983, ending just before he takes his O Levels. Although written in diary format, Sue Townsend has got the knack of creating believable "diary entries" that vary between a few lines and a few pages in length, yet always manage to further the story. It's quite hard to narrow down what age group this would appeal to - it might appear to be a book for teenagers, but it's one of those stories you can read at thirteen and still enjoy at twenty-three. Setting and Background Adrian lives with his mother and father somewhere around Leicester (geographical places are rarely mentioned but I have...

KateHurst 02.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Adrian Mole: The Growing Pains - Sue Townsend

Dorks Diary

Advantages: Hilarious
Disadvantages: None!

...***INTRO*** I first was introduced to The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4, When I was myself, 13. Unfortunately, at the time I didnt get most of the subtle jokes and much of the content, as I was too yound, but I still found much of the content absolutely hilarious. I have read the books several times over the years and each time I read it I understand it a little more. It isnt difficult to grasp, its just a funny and at times tragic account of a young boys adolescence. Most people have read the diaries, but if you havent, do. Immediately. ***DETAILS*** There are several books, available in several formats, at several prices. Try eBay, Amazon, Bol and pretty much any half decent bookshop. There are five Mole Diaries in total, but these have been combined together and I have three seperate books, containing all...

NataliePhelan 28.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of The Adrian Mole Diaries - Sue Townsend

Adrian Mole Growing Pains!

Advantages: very hard to put down!
Disadvantages: none

...Adrian Mole is a series of books by Sue Townsend. It started of with The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4 and the next was "The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole. Adrian Mole is 15 in this book, He says he's an intellectual even though he's a bit dim, one of his main problems is all the spots he's got. He is in a lower class than his girlfriend, Pandora, who has a massive home, loads of money, and smokes, Unlike him. The story is his diary of what happens every day through his eyes. At the beginning, the falklands war is happening and he tries to keep his map up to date. In the first book, his mum and dad break up, and his dad goes to live with 'Stick insect' Doreen Slater and her son Maxwell. His mum starts to see the next door neighbour Lucas but his mum and dad get back together. Then They find out Doreen is pregnant...

uk_girl_nikki 16.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Adrian Mole: The Growing Pains - Sue Townsend

Adrian Mole Returns

Advantages: Funny, witty, comical
Disadvantages: Adrian and Pandora are still not a couple!

...Well, it's great to see dear old Adrian Mole back after so many years. But this time he is a grown man in his 30's, not a meer spotty lad of 13 yrs old! Sue Townsend has, yet again, written a book that is so witty, funny and comical, I was laughing the whole way through! He is an offal chef at the 'Hoi Polloi' restaurant in Soho, London. A job he endures only to earn a living. His real dream is to be a writer, something he has had little success of. Another one of his failures is Pandara Braithwaite, the beautiful school sweetheart who is up for election as the MP for Ashby-de-la-Zouch. He loves her dearly, and would be a dream come true for him if she could love him in return. Now a single father to William, half Nigerian. Jo-Jo, William's mother, is now in Nigeria. William loves the Tellytubbies and Jeremy Clarkson...

Louise90 04.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years - Sue Townsend

"measured my thing, it is now 12 centimetres"

Advantages: funny
Disadvantages: dated

...WHAT IS IT ABOUT: Adrian Mole is a typical teenage boy whose diary reveals him to be nervous, hormonal and struggling with the day to day events of teenage life. A fictional diary written by SUe Townsend, this is a light hearted, comic and touching book from the early 90s. IS IT ANY GOOD: Here's a book I read as a young boy and have just now finished again. I remember loving it as a kid, and it still holds a lot of charm, for a couple of reasons: 1) It's easy to relate to - the maladies of working class inner city family life are something many people will be able to understand, from parents overdoing it on the drink, to measuring your growing penis, this is so normal it's laughable. Looking at someone else going through the same thing you've been through helps show you how funny life really is. 2) It's accessible - for a teen...

bruffyboy 12.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged Thirteen and Three Quarters - Sue Townsend

Who Doesn't Love Adrian Mole

Advantages: Excellent as always, and a must-read book.
Disadvantages: Honestly can't think of any.

...Adrian Mole - a man who holds a very special place in the hearts of all that encounter him. The eternal idiot, all his admirers are grateful that he is so dense that he doesn't realise the fool he so frequently makes of himself. After his divorce from Jo, the wonderful (and clearly totally out of Adrian's league) woman that he fell for in 'The Wilderness Years', Adrian has no one to long for but his old love Pandora, who we grew to love/hate during Adrian's adolescence. It becomes clear, in fact, that Adrian has never got over Pandora, though all her tawdry affairs with gay intellectuals, and drunkards. He still imagines himself to be the perfect man for this impossibly brainy and beautiful woman, who is the shining light of Blair's new, triumphant Labour. This latest addition to the Mole Chronicles is another...

Fuschia 20.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years - Sue Townsend

Adrian Mole 18 years on

Advantages: Strong cast
Disadvantages: Hard act to follow

...I tuned in to the new Adrian Mole comedy on BBC1 last night. I had enjoyed Sue Townsend's original Secret Diary when he was 13 and a bit and was interested to see how things had moved on. I was also attracted by the impressive cast, which included Alison Steadman, Zoe Wanamaker, Keith Allen and one of my favourites Helen Baxendale as Pandora. This time the story is set on the eve of the General Election in 1997 and Pandora is standing as a New Labour candidate in Ashby de la Zouch and Adrian is a single parent working as an offal chef in London. Mole, played by Stephen Mangan is still besotted by Pandora. Although an enjoyable half an hour this new series didn't quite take off for me, it may improve as the series develops over the next few weeks....

Mikew79 09.02.2001 (03.02.2001) · Read review
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Review of BBC1 - Adrian Mole:the Cappuccino Years