Review Detail

Like all families, 14-year old Gemma Stones family has inside jokes. The most famous of which is known as chucking a birkett. Named after Gemmas older sister Debbies ex-boyfriend, chucking a birkett is when anyone rides the wave of their emotions. This is especially true if the emotion drives out all common sense. In her family, Gemmas father and Debbie are more prone to birkett-chucking, while Gemma and her mum are the more level-headed ones.

Well, Gemma has always considered herself level-headed. But that was before her sister announced her engagement to Brian, whose entire family is obsessed with their military history and the art of warfare. Jackie, who is Gemmas age, wears nothing but camo and conducts her own private boot camp in their backyard obstacle course. Of course, Debbie has a nonsensical animals-that-mate-for-life theme to her wedding, and mandates that Gemma, the flower girl, dresses up as a swan. Naturally, the costume looks more like a flamingo crossed with a duck, but that is beside the point.

Then, theres the question of Gemmas love life, where she is torn between an absolutely Grecian-statue perfect actor, Nick, who doesnt know she exists and an equally attractive, albeit delinquent wild child in Raven De Head. Her decision is not made any easier by the fact that both boys are acting in The Tempest with Gemma, which she only tried out for to garner Nicks attention in the first place. Nevermind that the last time she was on stage, she threw up, which in that case was far worse than chucking a birkett.

Lisa Shanahan does a marvelous job in weaving a story that will have you laughing out loud. Her outrageous characters are her biggest strength. From the delinquent De Head family to the militant in-laws, every character is larger than life. Like any book with a title this obscenely long, The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It is full of silly moments that would make excellent ice breaker stories at parties. Gemmas life is full of moments where you could turn to your friend and say Remember when& with both dissolving in giggles before you can finish the sentence. Gemma is still believable though, because she seems to take all the craziness of her life in stride. The ending, like that of most romantic comedies, is more than a little corny. But that can be forgiven, because it is so fitting.