Favorite lines: "Watching you is like watching someone whose pants are on fire. Strangely fascinating, keep it up." (After Tallulah performs a ventriloquist-like skit with her hand wrapped as a baby Egyptian mummy.) Cain commenting on Tallulah's horse-costume: "Look at the state of you."
Tallulah seeing Alex: I said, "Hello, Alex." In a low voice, like the woman in James Bond. I don't know why.

Funny, although not as funny as the Georgia series. Tallulah was just the right amount of awkward for a 14 year old girl. I'll definitely read the next book in the series when it comes out.

Super funny, awesomely British and very cute book! It wasn't quite the same level as the Georgia books, but it was honestly close. I liked that it was written in first person, but in normal book style as opposed to Georgia's diary. It was smart of Louise Rennison to differentiate the series' slightly, though I do like that it's the same universe and that Tallulah is Georgia's cousin! I really liked all the boy characters, and Ruby too, and the Yorkshire setting. Laughed out loud reading the entire book. It was nice to read something purely entertaining and reminded me of reading the first series in high school. Obviously a younger book but well written, which makes all the difference. Can't wait to get the sequel, I'm sure it will be great!

I read this right after I finished off the Georgia Nicholson series. I was expecting a lot of sarcastic responses and well-timed wit, much like Georgia's. I was so disappointed. Tallulah is not funny, witty or anything Georgia is. Louise Rennison tried very hard to recreate Georgia but also make Tallulah different, to avoid a book just like Georgia Nicholson... but... not.

Tallulah's antics were just strange and without comedic timing. One star for trying (and because I loved Georgia so much).

True to the rest of Louise Rennison's repertoire, this book is a hilarious read that's appropriate for younger teens. Especially fun to have listened to, as Rennison herself reads this audiobook. I'd recommend it to any mildly eccentric/theatrical/quirky/intelligent girl aged 12-18, because it's accessible and appropriate for the younger set, but hilarious for older teens too.

Are we all huge Louise Rennison fans like me? I adored her Georgia Nicolson series and had to read her latest installments STRAIGHT.AWAY. So I was thrilled to hear that Louise Rennison was releasing this new series.

I think it'll take some time for me to stop comparing Talullah Casey with Georgia Nicolson. When I first began Withering Tights, I thought of Talullah as not quite as funny and crazy as (her cousin) Georgia. Instead of having a big nose and large basoomas, Talullah has long legs, wonky knees and no corkers to speak of. But 14 year old Talullah, at a Yorkshire school of performing arts is definitely just as boy-crazy and clueless about boy-goings-on.

She's sent off to some small little town, where she's staying with an absolutely nutty family, next door to a pub where the hottest boy around lives. There's no shops at all, but Tallulah soon makes friends with a gang of girls at her new school. Vaisey and lisping Honey, Flossie and little Jo. And just like with Georgia, they all get into some almighty embarassing scrapes.

Meeting the local boys as they're dancing around a tree. Starring in a bike ballet and doing Irish dancing at the most inopportune times. I did find Talullah to be absolutely hilarious. But also vulnerable at the same time. You can see that she's really trying hard to fit in at this school. But all of her friends can sing and dance and Talullah just doesn't know where she fits in at all.

The Yorkshire dales made for an interesting setting and I loved the inclusion of Wuthering Heights as the backdrop to everything. Especially the connection between Heathcliff and Cain, the local cad. My favourite character, however, is Ruby. The plucky little girl who lives in the pub and shows Talullah the owl eggs she's found. Some of Ruby's dialogue had me seriously laughing out loud.

It's an excellent start to the new series, with a fab new heroine, a great supporting cast of friends and some interesting new boy crushes! Bring on the next book!

3.5 stars

Withering Tights took a while to win me over, but I'm happy to report that it rallied in the second half and kept me reading. Tallulah Casey is a very interesting young girl and that's what this all comes down to. As the story progressed I found myself more and more endeared to her character. She kept the story alive and pushed it forward in ways I would have never expected.

Speaking of expectations. I don't know exactly what I was expecting from this book when I started it. This is the first thing I've read by Louise Rennison and although I've heard a lot of praise for her Georgia Nicolson series, I didn't know much about her storytelling or writing style before this.

Accents, quirky phrases, and Britishness galore! I was surprised how intensely these things came across. A lot of my reading experience was all about finding a way to interpret the writing in a manner that I could connect with and understand. This meant that although I found Tallulah to be quirky and cute, I kept getting thrown from the story as I missed out on conversations that I just could not figure out. Although I loved how British this is (and I hate to say this because I don't want to be that person) it was too British. There. I said it.

I was lost, and confused, and although I could try and use common sense to figure out the finer details, in order to get through the story I had to start glossing over the moments when I was left in the dark. Just humming along with the melody till we came around again to the chores and I could sing along with the group. My understanding of these accents, pronunciations, phrases, and words is just not up to the level that was necessary for me to fully enjoy this experience. Although I hate telling authors to make concessions for readers in other countries, I could have really used some context. Like "college", clearly not the same thing in North America then in the UK. And that's great! I've learned something new! Now if only someone could fill me in on what exactly this means in the UK, I'll be set.

Or maybe we could get even more basic, "Yorkshire" is a place, I think. I'm not totally sure if this is the place where Tallulah was or the type of accent that the people of the area have, but I would love to have some context. I've never been to England, I don't exactly know my way around. In the same way that people who have never been to Canada, don't know what type of accent people have in Manitoba. Do you see where I'm coming from? Am I just terribly uncultured? I know we share a Queen, but that doesn't always mean we share an understanding.

However, I can say that once I got into a rhythm of navigating my confusion, Withering Tights had a steady upswing in the late second half. I started to get really invested in the story. With each humorous misstep and moment of genuine emotion I started to love Tallulah despite our langue barrier. This entire story was adorable and with all the funny quips (coupled with some boy-tastic flirting) I ended up have a lot of fun. Not as much fun as I was maybe hoping for, but still lots of fun.

I don't wish to discourage readers with my complaints, but I would recommend that readers less well versed in British may want to pay extra attention to the Glossary at the back of the book. I didn't know this was there while I was reading, but by the looks of it, it has a few explanations of the more obvious quirky sayings and phrases which might be of use.

Overall: I liked the story. I loved, loved, LOVED Tallulah! And I am actually pretty excited to read the next book.

I've always been able to relate to Louise Rennison's characters very well from my childhood, which is probably why I have loved her books at any age. Sometimes I forget what it was like to be fourteen, but this book captures it so perfectly, and it captures it with humor. I think I love her writing so much because it reminds me of what I used to write in my diaries as a kid.

"I left the house a bit earlier than I needed to, so that I could get to the pub and maybe accidentally-on-purpose bump into Alex. But Vaisey was already sitting on the wall waiting for me. Just as well, really, I would have probably said something insane and fallen over a leaf if I'd seen him."

Every once in a while, Louise Rennison's books are a great way to take my mind off of a stressful work day. Days when I'm sick of being a grown-up. Days when being fourteen again is the perfect solution.


If you are fourteen and you're looking for a laugh, this book is fantastic. But if you are an adult and looking for the innocent and hilarious mindset of a fourteen-year-old, read this. Take a break and be a kid again.