Books: The Gowing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend (1984)

“At sixteen, Adrian Mole's life continues to be nothing but a set of tragic circumstances: His tempestuous relationship with an alluring schoolmate tortures him, while his intellectualism continues to be ignored by the British press. Despite it all he remains as agonizingly funny as ever.”

The 2nd book in the Adrian Mole series, following directly on from the first book, focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage aspiring intellectual. This volume takes us through the rest of 1982 through to mid-1983 and include notable events such the breakup and later reconciliation of Adrian and Pandora, Adrian's attempt to run away from home and subsequent breakdown, the birth of his sister Rosie Mole, and Adrian's general worry about his O levels and nuclear war. 

He continues his self-esteem issues as well, as he goes on about his height, his pimples, his lack of muscular development and the size of his penis. This leads to a fairly funny part where he tries running away, but only gets a few towns over before realizing his mistake. 

Much like the first book, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole are laugh-out funny (and I kind of thought this one better than the first). And once again, Townsend continues her brilliant look into mind of teenage boy, pulling out some wonderful, sometimes uncomfortable aspects, that seem to run though their minds. 

Note: Townsend would continue to write about Adrian, but it would be five years before she released The True Confessions of Adrian Mole. Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years, would follow in 1993. In 1997 she would return with Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years; Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction would be released in 2004, and Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years would be released in 2009. All of the books would follow Adrian as he aged, with the last book set around 2008. Townsend, who spend the last decade and half with health issues (including blindness) died in 2014 at the age of 68.

I'm unsure whether I'll continue, but we'll see how the dark the world gets.