I’ve just finished a great little book. Written by TV personality and writer Dawn O’Porter (now wife of actor Chris O’Dowd from Bridesmaids fame), her debut novel Paper Aeroplanes is an utterly charming story of an unlikely friendship between two teenage girls, Renee and Flo.
I must admit I felt a particular affinity with the story as it was set on my beloved home island of Guernsey (where Dawn spent her teenage years too, living with her aunt after her mother tragically passed away from breast cancer). The story is semi-autobiographical, Dawn points out, and based largely on her actual diaries of when she was a 15 year old school girl attending the Guernsey Ladies College – or ‘Tudor Falls’ as the book puts it. This invaluable diary material really helps her find the voice of the teenage girls so that she is able to create two characters that are genuine. It also enables Dawn to write about the most humiliating and excruciating moments of adolescence (whether it’s sex, periods or family struggles) with humour and sensitivity.
The synopsis in short: Renee and Flo should not be friends. Renee is ballsy and individual and doesn’t care what others think of her, whereas Flo is a quiet little thing who is stuck in the shadow of her horribly obnoxious ‘friend’ Sally – who only really likes Flo to get to her gorgeous older brother. Brought together when tragedy strikes, both girls end up finding themselves through finding eachother and strike up a bond that is stronger than ever…
The book is the perfect line between teenage and adult fiction (a hard line to draw usually) – this story can be enjoyed by a 14 year old just as much as a 35 year old. It’s a terrifically easy read – I finished it in 2 days. The setting of the 90’s also calls for a real nostalgia amongst the generation of current 20-35 year olds…as Caroline Flack best puts it on the book’s jacket; “Anyone who has ever been a teenage girl will enjoy this book”.
It’s not perfect, however, and there are some flaws in Dawn’s debut – namely the ending felt a little rushed and had a feeling of ‘oh well it’s all perfect and wrapped up now’. I have heard on the grapevine that a sequel is on the way too though, so potentially that ending was intentional. The male characters in the book also aren’t as well written as they could be – Dawn’s strength seems to lie within the female psyche as the male characters seem thin in comparison and are all entirely dominated by the females in their lives.
Overall, a lovely little book and I thoroughly enjoyed going back in time with Renee and Flo and all of their teenage angst – which resonated uncannily with some of my own cringe-inducing stories of being a 16 year old during GCSEs. Highly recommended.
You can buy Paper Aeroplanes from all good bookstores and on Amazon HERE.
LMNH x
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