Title: Della Says: OMG!
Genre: contemporary realism (YA)
Publisher: Orchard
Published: May 2010
Source: purchased on my Kindle
The blurb says:
Della's over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party - but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...
When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della's distraught - how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?
My verdict: hilarious and horrifying by turns, with one of the strongest teen voices I've read.
The premise, the title and the cover for this book promise a great fun read and it is certainly that, while at the same time exploring some crucial issues for teens about self-image and dealing with what others think of you. Della's diary pages had me cringing along with her (and pondering the cruelty of the sender - what a thing to do to someone!).
Della is a realistic teen heroine: her lack of confidence in her appearance open the book with a scene about getting ready for a party and it is easy to empathise with her right from the start. This is no glossy US-style high school story with perfect teen specimens bitching despite their perfect lives. I'm sure most teens will find much to identify with in Keris Stainton's brilliantly-executed characters. I've already commented on the authentic nature of the voice and dialogue in this novel, as this is a key part of its realism. Della and the other teen characters sound like genuine contemporary UK teenagers (trust me, I teach 16-19 yr olds), and yet their behaviour, relationships and emotions were able to take me back to being a teenager with ease. Keris has definitely captured something timeless in that period of uncertainty and intensity expertly. I also feel that the treatment of teen sexuality in Della is superbly realistic and it's great to see teens thinking and talking about sex without it being a thinly-veiled morality message. The sweet awkwardness of early romance is also particularly well done here.
Overall, I would strongly recommend this to any fan of teen/YA fiction. This was Keris's debut novel; Jessie Hearts NYC is also available and Emma Hearts LA is coming out next month. If Della is anything to go by, these will be fab reads too.
Keris is AMAZING! She does make me laugh so much. And yes, she does have a strong teen voice when she writes.
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