Test Drive: Life in the Fast Lane

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

My name is Jen, and I am addicted to teenage girl- targeted literature. No, I am not buying Bop (Is that still around?) or Seventeen magazine to swoon over the Jonas Brothers, but I am not just talking Twilight either. Twilight Image by cityofroundrock via Flickris more than a 12-15 year-old phenomenon, thank you very much. And, if I were in that age group, I would have wanted Bella to end up with Edward in the first three books instead of Jacob. Yes, I was totally on Team Jacob as my facebook flair proclaims. Also, I never read Twilight by choice. Really, what kind of choice did I have when girls in my English class who wouldn't even read a three page reading assignment race through a 500+ page novel in less than a week? I was intrigued, and I admit, they were good.

My problem is the books that I never in a million years thought a professional, articulate, almost thirty year old woman could enjoy, and fortunately, they all come in a series, so I can keep reading and reading and reading. . .

1. The Princess Diaries- I started reading Mia Thermopolis' diaries (by the lovely Meg Cabot) long before Anne Hathaway starred in the Disney flick. I just finished Forever Princess in one day (approximately 400 pages). Oh, and I have a life, a stepson, a husband, and two dogs to take care of and amuse me. However, I had to know what was going to happen with Mia, Michael, and all the characters that Cabot has written so well over the course of the series. And now "Mia" has written a romance novel, Ransom My Heart! I am putting it on my summer reading list!
2. Gossip Girl- Let me be clear. Very few of my 8th graders read this series (although they watch it on the CW.) I started reading these books while I was student teaching five years ago. Gossip Girl novels are like Page Six or the National Enquirer stretched into 200 pages. I could not wait to see which song title Cecily von Ziegesar would choose for the title of her next book. Then Blair, Serena, Nate and Co. graduated. I tried to continue with Jenny's adventures in The It Girl series, but it just wasn't the same without Dan, Vanessa, and Chuck. Now, I am continuing the tradition with the next generations of GG, The Carlyles, the story of the triplets taking the New York social scene by storm. I am enjoying book number three, but I am not sure if the Avery, Baby, and Owen will live up to the original cast.
3. The Clique- This is the story of Claire, thrust into a wCover of The Cliqueorld of snobby junior high wannabes. Massie, Dylan, Alicia, and Kristen's stories are nothing out of Austen. They are simple, elementary stories, and at times, I want to slap the bratty girls. But, I keep reading. I have to know if Claire will finally be the alpha that dethrones bratty (yet at times likable) Massie. Lisi Harrison does a great job of keeping me hooked by coming out with book after book of cleverly titled best sellers.

Step two is believing that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity. As with any addiction, however, I have to be honest. I am not sure I want to recover. Bring on the chick lit for the teen set. Is it really such a bad thing to feel thirteen again?