The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole

Townsend, Sue (1982). New York: Avon Books. ISBN: 0-380-73044-8

Plot
Adrian is still writing in his diary and is as self-absorbed and spot-obsessed as ever. His mother has a baby, Rosie, he has a falling out and later a reconciliation with Pandora, Bert Baxter falls in love, and the BBC still pays insufficient attention to Adrian’s poetry. Adrian continues to record in his tangential way the destruction of the British working class by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative party; passing years have only emphasized the validity of his concerns.

Reader’s Annotation
The second Mole diary begins when Adrian is 14 ¾. He is now studying for his ‘O Level’ Exams and gains a little sister, but otherwise his concerns and associates are seamlessly continued from the year before.

Critique
At 14 ¾ we are still inside the wonder years with Adrian. As long as he is a helpless teen living with his ghastly parents, there can not be too many diary entries from the egregious Mole. It is only after the first two, when we start to worry that his self-absorption and cluelessness indicate pathological conditions that the humor sometimes fades

About the author
In the years since the Adrian Mole series made her rich and famous, Sue Townsend has lost her eyesight due to diabetes. She has compared this to the behavior of the greek gods, who gave, but also take away. A new Adrian Mole entry was to be published last month.

Genre
Humor

Curriculum Ties
Recreational

Booktalking Ideas
Parallels between the plight of Adrian’s family in Thatcher’s Britain and working people in the USA today?
Brit slang
Is Adrian like anyone you know?

Reading Level/Interest Age
8th grade and up

Challenge Issues
Thing measuring, “Big and Bouncy”-reading, sexual humor.

Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; provide copies of SLJ, New York Times, and critical analyses; gather student responses


Why Included?
Used for author study; always wanted to read
Selection Tools
Sequel to popular original

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