A review by celandine
The Year My Life Went Down the Loo by Katie Maxwell

2.0

I'll admit, I picked up the book in hopes that it'd be similar in wit and style as the Georgia Nicholson series or even Adrian Mole. Sadly, I was mistaken. I got half way through this book before I had to put it down and vowed not to pick it up again. Within pages, I found the main character, Emily, to be extremely irritating, self-centered, and not the least bit funny or witty. Her whiney attitude and inability to get over herself and see any good in her new situation pushed me over the edge. She is a bundle of American teenage stereotypes and not even the good ones (who even says "coolio" anymore, for heaven's sake?) Details that I wish were further expanded on weren't (why does she call her father "Brother"?) and I became bewildered and stuck on these details that could have been glossed over even briefly. The British diary-esque style that I think the author was trying for fell flat and the "American twist" couldn't rescue it.