OMG! Is This Actually My Life?

Hattie Moore has got a new diary. This is going to be her year. This is going to be the year she turns into a ‘total hotness goddess’; gets the boy at Bertie’s to ask her out; and finds out who her father is. Hattie is desperate to know more about her father. Rob, her step-dad, is great, but her mum just refuses to tell her anything about her real dad. There are a few problems to deal with before Hattie achieves her goals: Miss Gorgeous Knickers at school hates her; her ‘craptacular’ brother, Nathan, is annoying; her gran is ‘mental’; and worst of all – she has no breasts. It’s going to be an eventful year for Hattie, aided by her friends, Dimple and Weird Jen, as well as her ever-loyal next-door neighbour, Goose.

This is Rae Earl’s second book using the diary format. Her first book, My Mad Fat Teenage Diary, was published in 2007 and has been televised. However, OMG! Is This Actually My Life? is more up to date in its use of technology and social networking. It is witty and sympathetic to the everyday problems and anxieties faced by teenage girls. The book is extremely funny, and although it highlights these concerns in a humorous way, at no point does it deride or belittle them. It is very enjoyable and young readers will find much to relate to, the humour being reminiscent of that in Louise Rennison’s writing.