HOW TO BUILD A GIRL- Review (Mild spoilers)

I have a lot of time for Caitlin Moran. I like the way she speaks about the realities of being a woman- the body issues, the physical and emotional truths we face on a daily basis, plus she isn't shy to share about bodily functions! So a fictional novel by her was never going to be about a pretty little ladylike princess, no!

Moran has said HOW TO BUILD A GIRL is entirely fictional but admits that she has drawn inspiration from her past to tell the tale of Johanna Morrigan, a plump and witty girl from a struggling family with five kids in 90's Wolverhampton. Johanna is dissatisfied with her station in life, very much an outcast and desperately horny to boot. Her Mum is plodding through the darkness of post-natal depression, to the point where she hasn't even bothered to name her newborn twins. (Who the siblings have hilariously dubbed David and Mavid.) Her Dad is an aspiring rock star on benefits, wheeling and dealing to stay afloat, and drinking most of what he does earn away down the local boozer.

Johanna has a smart mouth, loves her family and is a witty observer of the human condition. As much as she feels like a square peg, the love for her family is evident, and there is an infectiously warm sense of pride, but her desperation to be kissed, to have sex, to be truly seen is overwhelming. She masturbates furiously and often, pouring all her need into unnatural attachments to hairbrushes and deoderant cannisters. So, in a desperate bid to achieve her sexual goals she creates a new identity called Dolly Wilde, trying to eke out a sexy, grown-up self. After a few fits and starts, she becomes a music critic, using this adventurous, sarcastic and raucous Dolly to write scathing and witty reviews that give her a notorious reputation. (If you know anything about the author this will sound familiar...!) She dresses in black, with heavy boots and a top hat, and the result causes her Mum to label her a 'Fat Crow.' Johanna finally loses her virginity and as well as embarking on various sexual escapades, falls in love with John Kite, a Shane McGowan-esque music star 7 years her senior. But as her new persona takes her on all sorts of debauched and crazy adventures, she realises the truth about growing up- in that, it never really ends.

This was an enjoyable read, packed with down-to-earth humour, and much of the narrative on being a teenage girl, of developing sexuality and identity hit me right in the gut. I identified massively with the awkward, chubby bookworm. But, BUT I think a big part of that was the author's actual personality bursting through, not Johanna Morrigan the character. Even if you hadn't told me this was written by Caitlin Moran, I would have guessed quite quickly. I actually feel she has been more than inspired by her past, that actually Johanna is pretty much a young Moran. That's not a bad thing however! Having read her autobiography HOW TO BE A WOMAN and also following her on Twitter, I am well used to her shouty, often sweary beauty and I love it. Johanna's narrative voice was therefore very familiar so I couldn't help but picture a young Caitlin Moran raving it up in London, and er... dousing her poor cystitis-ridden self in the bath. Johanna was also incredibly articulate for a teenager and although I thoroughly enjoyed her zany, self deprecating and often beautiful philosophical wonderings, it felt a little too sophisticated for a teenager, even a very clever one. Maybe this says more about me than anything else, but at times I just didn't buy that such a girl could exist. (I'm not saying she wouldn't, I just wasn't convinced.) Also, I kind of felt like the resolution of her journey came all too quickly. Dolly falls hard for a posh fittie called Rich, and in a bid to impress him, suggests a threesome with the ex-girlfriend he's still madly in love with. It's at that moment she realises she has built her sexual identity all on a male narrative and not her own, i.e. on how men see her, on how she gives them pleasure. And with that breakthrough, she embarks on deconstucting Dolly Wilde and starting over. But then we don't really get a thorough account of that process, it's almost like 'AndshelivedhappilyeverafterOKBye.' But putting those niggles aside, this is a pleasurable read that can be almost brutal in its account of adolescence. The characters are very real, and funny. The situations described are clearly depicted and accessible. It's just a lot of fun.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA Fiction, but it reads at an older age so adults and older teens alike will very much appreciate this, most likely women. If you had a difficult adolescence, if you struggled with your identity or even had problems getting laid, you will read this book and wince as Moran reaches into the depth of her history and qualifies in exacting, filthy language just what the struggle meant to her (I mean, Johanna!) For those still undergoing the trauma of the teenage years, she offers hope. She doesn't dress it up to be idyllic, but when I finished reading it, I had no doubt that Johanna Morrigan was going to be just fine.