Rennison (the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson books) is back with a new series, this time featuring 14½-year-old Tallulah Casey, a self-deprecating and boy-crazy aspiring actress, as well as—in typical Rennison fashion—a spunky comedian. (Oh, and she's Georgia's cousin, too.) Tallulah heads off to Dother Hall in Yorkshire, a school for the performing arts, to pursue a life on the stage, and it won't take readers long to note that her personality is perfect for the profession. With entertaining scenarios in spades (Tallulah's home-stay family lodges her in what she regularly refers to as "the squirrel room," for instance), a cast of winning new girlfriends, and cute boys everywhere they turn, Tallulah and company work through the trials of adolescence and the mysteries of first romance. British slang is abundant (lots of "snogging," of course, but also less familiar terms like "smalls"). If the nonstop jokes and silliness can become a bit much at times, Tallulah is an effervescent protagonist who will keep fans of YA Brit lit laughing until the very end. Ages 12–up. (July)

Refreshing.

We’re talking laugh-till-the-soda-comes-out-your-nose humor.

Hysterically funny.

Louise Rennison has created another superbly realistic and hilarious young teen heroine, a younger Georgia Nicolson, in the first book of a new series. Tallulah’s wry comments on her life and her dreams are sure to enchant girl readers who will laugh and cry with the spunky, hopeful entertainer.

Absurdity is a key point here, and it’s richly delivered by Tallulah’s exploits. Ideal for readers seeking a high-spirited silly British romp.

Expect lots more of Rennison’s unique brand of teen angst, snogging and shenanigans.

Hilarious.

PRAISE FOR THE CONFESSIONS OF GEORGIA NICOLSON:“A little raunchy and quite funny.

This Brit lit romp through the moors will leave readers looking forward to next term and more Tallulah.

Refreshing.

A bright, breezy, and very funny take on life. Good fun!

Gr 7 Up—Rennison introduces Georgia Nicholson's cousin, Tallulah Casey, a girl just as funny and introspective as Georgia herself, if not more so. Tallulah is on her way to a performing-arts school on the Yorkshire Moors—this fact alone has her beside herself thinking about Cathy and Heathcliff. This will be her first time away from home—she'll be on her own with no parents, no little brother—and plans to discover her inner artistic talents and keep her knobby knees tightly under wraps. Tallulah soon meets a fun group of girls as well as Cain, the local cad; Alex, the local swoon-worthy boy; an owl; and Charlie, a boy with potential—and a secret. Readers will be laughing at the teen's adventures and her journey toward artistic greatness during her summer at Dother Hall. Will she end up with Charlie? Does she really hate Cain—or does she secretly "feel funny" around him? Will Alex ever see her as anything but a 14-year-old? Tallulah is a vivacious and hilarious character who will speak to every girl—she's not the most popular or the most beautiful, but she has her own wonderful talents that others start to recognize. This is a wonderful start to a new series that will attract Georgia's many fans as well as bring in new readers, who will fall in love with Tallulah and all of her quirks. A definite must purchase for all libraries.—Traci Glass, Eugene Public Library, OR

Hilarious!

A jolly and faintly raunchy read.

Louise Rennison has created another superbly realistic and hilarious young teen heroine, a younger Georgia Nicolson, in the first book of a new series. Tallulah Casey is attending summer performing arts school in Yorkshire where she hopes to find that she has a mesmerizing talent for something besides Irish dancing, and perhaps, get snogged (kissed) for the first time in her life. At fourteen-and-a-half, she is tall and gangly with a penchant for blurting out whatever is on her mind while crashing and careening into anything in her path. Feeling like she should be good for more than getting things off the top shelf, she unites with Flossie, Vaisey, and Jo—all intent upon finding fame, romance and maturity on the moors. The humor explodes as Tallulah encounters eccentric teachers, cute prep school boys, the pub owner's sassy young daughter and gorgeous son, plus the cad of the country. The culmination of the artistic experience is an original interpretation of Wuthering Heights written, designed, acted, and produced by the budding thespians. Tallulah's wry comments on her life and her dreams are sure to enchant adolescent girl readers who will laugh and cry with the spunky, hopeful entertainer. Tallulah also provides a glossary for those on this side of the pond. Reviewer: Judith Hayn

Fans of Georgia Nicolson will be thrilled to meet her cousin Tallulah in Printz Honor–winner Rennison's new madcap melodrama.

Fourteen-year-old Tallulah Casey is headed to summer theatre school in Yorkshire armed with nothing more than a good-luck letter from Cousin Georgia and sheer determination to become a star. Because other than a penchant for breaking into Riverdance whenever she gets nervous, Tallulah has no talent to speak of. Desperate to impress her teachers in order to win a permanent spot at Dother Hall, Tallulah choreographs a bicycle ballet called "Sugar Plum Bikey," which unfortunately ends up having the opposite effect and the added bonus of spraining her ankle. Meanwhile, she's also nursing crushes on three local boys: older Alex, bad boy Cain and sweetheart Charlie. It is almost summer's end before Tallulah gets kissed and discovers that her talent might be making people laugh. But is being funny enough for Tallulah to be asked back after her fake-moustache–twirling turn as Heathcliff in the final summer production? Though some of Tallulah's Briticisms may be confusing to American readers, her utterly hilarious glossary in the back will help. "The Bronte Sisters: Em, Chazza, and Anne...they wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and loads of other stuff about terrible weather conditions and moaning. But in a good way."

Rennison's writing remains reliably, undeniably entertaining; Georgia would be pleased. (Fiction. 12 & up)