Soon Shiraz is hanging out with other boffin types, amongst them the gorgeous Joshua, with the sharp cheekbones and the whopping allowance.

But will Shiraz really dump the devoted Wesley Barrington Bains II for a smooth-talking lad with an Oxbridge future? Poor characters aside, I did enjoy this unusual portrayal of working class culture because even if I don’t agree with all of their values, as displayed primarily by Shiraz’s mother, I recognize them as authentic and universal, not just localized in London.

As insufferable as a lot of these characters were, they were all realistic or depicted a part of their culture like Shiraz. But this loveable British dreamer with a brain and a heart of gold is beginning to feel there might be a lot more to life than minimum wage and the bling of a souped-up car.

Things get tricky when Shiraz ends up getting a job as PA to a Premier league footballer and his wife - Carrie had her heart set on it and she's furious, but how could Shiraz turn it down? After the nightmare that was Ibiza, Shiraz is overjoyed to be home in Goodmayes, back with her family, her friends. I've seen this book described as a working class version of Louise Rennison's "Georgia Nicholson" novels, and the description is apt, although I think Dent's work has a bit more depth. When I picked up this book at the library, my first thought was: This book is either going to be an epic disaster or hilarious. Emboldened, she decides she can’t waste her brain power on a job at ‘Mr Yolk’, the local greasy spoon.

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From 2011 to 2017 she wrote a restaurant column for the Evening Standard, and became the Guardian's restaurant critic in 2018. But when new English Teacher Miss Brackett arrives at Mayflower Academy, Shiraz is made to see there's more to life than getting excluded, suped up Vauxhall Novas and Chicago Town pizza. kids who claim to have never read anything longer than a text message are ploughing through my books nagging me for the next one.

That seems to be a big part of Shiraz’s mentality, but unfortunately, that was one of the only real desires I could pinpoint for her character, and getting to the bottom of the “real” Shiraz was an entirely difficult task. Shiraz Bailey Wood is sixteen and goes to Super Chav Academy—actually, Mayflower Academy, but the school has a bad reputation for its chav hijinks.