Posh and Prejudice (Diary of a Chav) [Paperback]

Grace Dent (Author)

Book Description

Series: Diary of a Chav | Publication Date: December 1, 2009

The divine Shiraz Bailey Wood is back in this hilarious sequel to Diva Without a Cause to enlighten us with her signature brand of madcap humor on her demented, glorious life in the gritty suburbs of London.

When sixteen-year-old Shiraz Bailey Wood's year-end test results come in, she's astonished to discover not only that she passed them all, but that she's actually clever! Emboldened by an invite to higher-level classes, Shiraz enrolls in Superchav Academy's "Center of Excellence" to get even brainier.

Hanging with goody-two- shoes types in higher-level classes seems like just the ticket to avoid getting stuck forever in her crap hometown. But Shiraz has to figure out for herself: are these posh types really any better than she, or do they just want to stick their noses up at everyone?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8–11—Shiraz Bailey Wood is a typical British 16-year-old from a working-class family. She waitresses at Mr. Yolk, proudly wears the gaudy bling her boyfriend buys her, and attempts to study, despite her school's bad reputation. Unfortunately, Shiraz is considered a "chav," which is "a bit like calling someone trailer trash." So when she surprisingly passes her exams and is invited to study advanced subjects, she is met with opposition from all sides. She is now hobnobbing with the smart kids, flirting with posh Joshua, and defending her choices to her boyfriend and mother. (Most readers will be shocked that Shiraz's mother pushes a silly part-time job over a college education.) But even Shiraz is guilty of prejudice as she unfairly labels a classmate a charity case. Regardless, the teen is a likable character with wit and charm, but her family is the true scene-stealer, particularly when her mom recounts how Shiraz tried to sell her younger brother at a school auction. Shiraz's diary is full of British slang, and readers are definitely going to need the glossary in the back.—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Hilarious and unflinching." (Kirkus Reviews )

"I loved, loved, loved Diary of a Chav! I laughed a lot and I even cried. Diaries are supposed to be sacred, but Shiraz's is too laugh-out-loud hilarious and completely honest to not be broken into and read from cover to cover at warp speed." (Jen Calonita, author of the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Poppy (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316034843
• ISBN-13: 978-0316034845
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,361,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Grace Dent is undeniably one of the hottest names in teen fiction right now. Put simply: no other author nails how young people REALLY speak and behave like Grace Dent. Grace is a comedy writer and broadcaster specialising in all aspects of 'Pop Culture'. She is a presenter on The Culture Show on BBC2 and has recently interviewed Mitchell and Webb and the cast of Gavin and Stacey. She lives in East London with her husband, who works in the music industry. When she's not writing comedy Grace is to be found 'faffing about on the internet' or 'faffing about in the garden or kitchen' or 'just 'faffing about generally. I'm an excellent faffer.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 12, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Posh and Prejudice (Diary of a Chav) (Paperback)

Ms. Dent brings us another installment in the life of Shiraz Bailey Wood. Originally published in Great Britain as SLINGING THE BLING, the United States now gets more crazy adventures from Shiraz.

Shiraz gets her GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) results back. She can't believe her eyes when she reads her scores. Not only are they not bad, they're actually really good. So good, in fact, that she seriously has to consider continuing with her education into the sixth form at the new addition at Mayflower Academy. She decides she doesn't want to spend her life working at Mr. Yolk, so she signs up.

Her decision may just change the direction of her life.

Her newfound study habits force a rift between and her boyfriend, Wesley. She makes some new friends, some unexpected ones. And she is pursued by the hottest boy in her class, Joshua. But classes are hard, and she's put in charge of the Increase the Peace campaign. The campaign brings such promising press to Mayflower that Prince Charles is going to visit.

As with DIARY OF A CHAV, POSH AND PREJUDICE is an entertaining read. The glossary at the back of the book comes in handy, as there are far more slang words in this one than the first installment. But the situations that Shiraz finds her in are amusing and resolved in a manner fitting of a chav trying to step outside of her lot in life.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An improvement over the prequel, January 5, 2010

By 

The Book Muncher (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Posh and Prejudice (Diary of a Chav) (Paperback)

Shiraz Bailey Wood isn't expecting great results from her GSCEs, which is why she takes a job to Mr. Yolk. She might as well get a head start on earning her share. But when she gets her grades back, she's pleasantly surprised--not only are her GSCE results pretty decent, but Shiraz is intelligent enough to enroll in Mayflower Sixth Form. So, it's back to school for Shiraz despite her mother's protests. Even if Shiraz does enjoy some of her new classes and the new friends she's made, school seems to be creating more problems than it's fixing. Getting an education seems like the alternative to be stuck a chav in Shiraz's sucky neighborhood Goodmayes, but there are also the distractions like the good-looking rich boys and loads of new responsibilities. That doesn't even count all the time Shiraz has to spend studying. Even the constants in her life are changing: her sister Cava-Sue is leaving soon to travel, her best friend Carrie is more interested in self-tanner than doing her assignments, and even her boyfriend wants to tie her down. What's a girl to do when all she wants is to keep it real?

Posh and Prejudice, though by no means fantastic, is an improvement over its prequel Diva without a Cause. The reader gets used to all the British slang that was somewhat confusing in the previous novel. Shiraz's character is somewhat more solid and defined that it used to be. I like how she seems to have more conviction in her life and her beliefs and a strong will to succeed. She has matured a little since her previous year and can thus navigate her life better. Shiraz realistically struggles with other people's perceptions of how she should live her life, which causes her to be less true to herself, until she finally realizes that she can only be happy bettering her life on her own terms. I like this message much better than the seeming lack thereof in Diva without a Cause; it's what makes Posh and Prejudice so much more enjoyable for me than its prequel. While the novel is better than its prequel, it still had a little ways to go. Though Shiraz has become surer of some of her beliefs, she still flounders and doesn't know what to do with her life. This lost feeling keeps me waiting for something really big to happen, but Shiraz's one monumental decision is saved for the final pages of the book. This is bad because I was looking for more but good because it gives Shiraz room to grow and develop in a subsequent novel.

This humorous novel will be enjoyed by fans of Diva without a Cause and the It's All About Us series by Shelley Adina.