A Midsummer Tights Dream by Louise Rennison

HarperCollins, 2012. ISBN: 9780007156849.
Tallulah Casey arrives back at Dother Hall Performing Arts College, excited about being reunited with her recently acquired friends Flossie, Honey, Jo and Vaisey. Amidst much hugging and hand knitted garments, she receives a warm welcome from her stand in parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dobbins and the twins, Max and Sam. In her 'squirrel room', Tallulah continues to write in her diary and measure the growth of her 'corkers'. Boarding in a private home and not at school, she enjoys having the freedom to visit Ruby, her bulldog Matilda and the baby owls. School resumes and she is immersed in the daily life. This is not without its ups and downs with regard to 'boy interests' of Tallulah and her group of friends. With a new musical to rehearse and family issues with which to contend, life is never dull and boring.
As with the Georgia Nicholson titles, Rennison has created a likeable, hilarious and endearing character in Tallulah and girls will be clamouring to read this series. With themes of friendship, crushes and snogging, acceptance of others no matter what their differences and a smattering of somewhat eccentric teachers and interesting vocabulary, this is another entertaining title. There are certain parallels between this and Sue Townsend's title The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. I laughed out loud at the main characters in each book as they measured various parts of their anatomy to gauge their movement into adolescence. An easy read for girls in Upper Primary and early secondary school, I can see they will always be on loan and never on my library shelves!
Jo Schenkel