“It’s quite a ride, this book. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, sweetly romantic and fiercely angry. Often all at once … beautifully written”

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

Caitlin Moran’s How to be Famous is the sequel to her début novel, How to Build a Girl, and continues following the life of Johanna Morrigan (Dolly Wilde), a now 19-year-old girl from Wolverhampton whose journalistic career has taken her to London.

Set in 1995, How to be Famous explores the male-dominated, British music scene and the misogyny that resulted from it. Through the voice of Johanna, Caitlin Moran reminds readers that the opinions of girls were, at the time (and still often are), very much overlooked, with female-loved bands and music being viewed as inferior. Through Johanna’s ups and downs and emotions in this novel, Caitlin Moran shows just how disheartening this ignoring of teenage-girl fans can be to young women.

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How to be Famous by Caitlin Moran (Amazon / Hive Books / Abe Books)

Caitlin Moran’s How to be Famous is the sequel to her début novel, How to Build a Girl, and continues following the life of Johanna Morrigan (Dolly Wilde), a now 19-year-old girl from Wolverhampton whose journalistic career has taken her to London.

Set in 1995, How to be Famous explores the male-dominated, British music scene and the misogyny that resulted from it. Through the voice of Johanna, Caitlin Moran reminds readers that the opinions of girls were, at the time (and still often are), very much overlooked, with female-loved bands and music being viewed as inferior. Through Johanna’s ups and downs and emotions in this novel, Caitlin Moran shows just how disheartening this ignoring of teenage-girl fans can be to young women.

Like How to Build a Girl, How to be Famous, is often explicit and sex-positive in its descriptions of Johanna’s sex life. However, Caitlin Moran also portrays a darker side of this story, exploring issues of consent, sharing of images and/or video and revenge porn, and highlighting the impact of porn’s depiction of sex. Although set in the 1990s, this brilliant novel benefits from its 21st-century writing and perspective because it echoes the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements and acts as a reminder of the importance of speaking up against sexual harassment and abuse.

How to Build a Girl and How to be Famous are both fiercely feminist, hilarious and emotional novels about the harsh realities of growing up, and the heart-warming truth friendships and love. Having read both novels, I am very much looking forward to the film adaptation of How to Build a Girl, and keeping my fingers crossed for the rumoured third novel in this series; How to Change the World.

 

Reviewed by:

Catherine Muxworthy, Booksbirdblog

Added 30th July 2020

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Catherine Muxworthy