At first glance this book appears to be about dentists…not selling it to you? No, not my favourite place to visit either. But if you dig a little bit deeper, you’ll find a classic coming of age story, which beautifully, and often humorously, captures leaving home, family tensions, first love and the journey into adulthood.
The main character, Lizzie Vogel, is a likeable, personable heroine full of intellectual sophistication but often naive and otherworldly. Early in the book, she secures a job as a dental assistant and with the job comes a flat, giving Lizzie the opportunity to move and live in the big city, Leicester.
Along the way, Lizzie meets a host of characters including the thoroughly dislikeable dentist JP, his long suffering girlfriend Tammy and the handsome, if peculiar, denture maker Andy. As someone who struggled to learn to drive, I especially enjoyed reading about Lizzie’s lessons with Mrs Woodward, who frequently falls asleep when she’s behind the wheel and Lizzie's first disastrous driving test.
Despite its light hearted approach and jovial tone, the book addresses some tricky themes including xenophobia in 1980s Britain. I don’t want to give the plot away but there are some unexpected twists and turns which Stibbe narrates effortlessly and sensitively.
In short, this books perfectly captures the mundanity of everyday life and the promise of late adolescence. I’d thoroughly recommend it and give it five out of five stars.
If you enjoyed this, you might also like the Adrian Mole stories by Sue Townsend, diary format books which capture the life of a teenage boy.
Reviewed by Amy Icke, Online Learning and Innovation Manager, GDST.