Reviews for Girl, Going on 17: Pants on Fire

The average rating for Girl, Going on 17: Pants on Fire based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-09-19 00:00:00 Leah Cuadra Hilarious situations, friendship, stalking your ex, and much more. There is never a dull day in Jess her life! When I bought this one at Boekenfestijn, I didn't really know this was the 3rd book in the series. If anything I thought it was the second (and only because of the blurb). Thankfully you don't need to have read the other books. Sure, it was a bit confusing at times, but mostly I could make sense of what was happening, and also understand what happened before the events of this book. I instantly took a liking to Jess. She was hilarious, relatable (well in a way at least), and she reminded me of Georgia Nicolson (with how she acted, though she was way less weird when it came to romance). In fact the whole book reminded me of Louise Rennison's books. It had the same vibe, the same feeling. I am really happy with that, as I love her books, and I am always looking around for similar books. Back to Jess. I did wish she would lie a bit less, or try to make everything into something funny. Thankfully, Jess knows she is lying, and that it is bad. In fact throughout the book she is talking about how she hopes God will forgive her for lying so much. :P I also worry a bit about her schoolwork, but it seems she is pretty dedicated to it, even though we often get the impression she never makes it. Her stalking Fred? It was a bit annoying, but I can imagine she is curious, worried, and wants to reconcile with him. And yes, I did agree with her that it should be Fred to come to her and say sorry. After all he was the one who said that horrible thing at the beginning of the book. And unlike so many other books about friendship and romance, she was very sweet towards her friend, Flora. She could have easily just talked all the time about Fred, but instead she also let her best friend rave about her new crush. I loved that! She was really supportive, even though you could see that she at times had a hard time with it (she just wanted to talk about Fred). Then there is Ben, who is just a friend to Jess, though it seems he used to be more. He brings in some trouble, as Jess is hanging out with him a lot (and even borrowing his clothes when a mud-emergency arises). You can imagine that when Fred sees those two together, he isn't that happy. Miss Thorn, what a terrible, terrible teacher. How to put kids off from studying entirely. She was just horrendous. I did kind of agree with her on some parts (like that Jess kept running late), but in regards to the play and what she did to Flora? No. Just no. That was just a crap move. She definitely deserved what Jess did during her play, and I hope it will also make her see how she is acting around her pupils. I also didn't like Mackenzie. What a self-absorbed, pompous guy. :| The comedy piece they did during lunchtime was just absolutely brilliant. I would have paid dear money to see that show. I just laughed so hard while reading it. Every part was brilliant, from Jess and her impression of Miss Thorne (Susie Sunbeam) to the Olympics. It was fab! I also really liked Jess and her family. Well, at least her grandma was cool. A bit eccentric, but really sweet and caring. The mom on the other hand? Well, at times I really liked her (those parts with the Japanese student were fun and sweet), but I did think she was quite a bit irresponsible about quite a few parenting things. All in all, I was just laughing so much while reading this. There were also some more serious parts, but mostly this book will make your tummy ache because of the hilarity of Jess her life (like who thinks it is a brilliant idea to go outside without underwear while wearing a mini-skirt :P). And I was rooting for Fred and Jess to get back together the whole book. From the short while I saw them together they did make a cute couple. :) I just need the other books in my life, so I will be slowly buying them over the next few months. I hope they are all as good as this one. I would recommend this book to everyone who loved Louise Rennison, and to those who need some hilarity in their life. Review first posted at

Review # 2 was written on 2013-03-25 00:00:00 Tameta Witherspoon Jess and her boyfriend, Fred, get into a huge fight and break up. The school year then starts again after a long summer. Jess and Fred continue to ignore each other and try to make each other jealous by talking to other people. School starts to be a big struggle for Jess.Her English teacher tries to change her attitude, but she continues to make the same mistakes. A lot of things have changed within six months, the good and the bad all made quite an interesting end to this novel. I recommend this book to any girl in her late teens, because its a love story with some humor. I don't recommend this to adults, because it's quite childish.The story line is more fitting for a high school reader.