THESE BOOKS TAUGHT you everything you needed to know about life, the universe, and kissing. Thank you, books.
1. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Georgia Nicolson is a teen icon and we will forever love her for giving us words like ‘nunga-nungas’ and ‘nuddy-pants’.
2. The Princess Diaries
If you came in to this series off the back of the sweet-as-pie Disney films, you were probably extremely surprised by the frank discussion of sex in the books. Surprised and extremely interested in immediately reading all of them.
3. Any book based on a Mary-Kate and Ashley TV show
The stakes were low (would the girls successfully pull off a sleepover with the most popular girl in school in attendance?) but anything with MK&A on it was good enough for you.
4. Sisters… No Way by Siobhán Parkison
This book inspired the very specific fear of one of your parents somehow getting married to a teacher of yours. (Spoiler alert: It would probably be awful.)
5. Everything by Jacqueline Wilson…
There was no shortage of drama between these pages.
6. …But especially her more ‘grown-up’ novels
The Girls series! It taught us so much. If your parents knew all the salacious information you were being exposed to they’d have never let you read them.
7. Twilight
Listen, we can’t argue that this is a good book – but we can say that it was passed around Irish schools quicker than lice.
Imagine your rage when, after what must have been a million pages of Bella and Edward standing around staring at each other, you realised you’d have to wait for another book for them to actually DO anything? Ugh.
8. Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna
Who were you if you didn’t sob your heart out at this, or indeed its follow-up, Wildflower Girl? You’d have to have been made of stone.
9. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
You thought that, like Lena, you would also meet the love of your life while on your summer holidays. You would be in Kerry and not Santorini, of course, but a girl could dream.
10. The Mallory Towers series by Enid Blyton
After reading these books, you were sure you would die if you didn’t get to go to boarding school and play lacrosse. Even if you weren’t 100% sure what lacrosse was.
