Shiraz Bailey Wood is British, 16 years old, and a chav --- or so others say. A chav, the book's glossary says, is a "British insult for white working-class people fixated on street fashions derived from American hip-hop such as imitation gold and fake designer clothing." So, not surprisingly, she loves to wear hoodies, go shopping and text her friends.
Shiraz also likes to write in her diary, where she can be as loud-mouthed as she wants without getting into trouble. She can complain about her brother, who sends her a fake Valentine just to make fun of her. She can talk about her sister, Cava-Sue, who thinks she's great just because she goes to college. And then there's her mother, who can't understand anything Shiraz says or does. When she's given a gift certificate to a spa, Shiraz insists on returning it because she'll never have any time to relax.
Shiraz's goal in life is to be able to work and just "make proper money," and not bother with that school stuff. That is, until she gets a new teacher who figures out that Shiraz, or “Shiz” to her friends, is actually quite smart. After Shiraz tries working for a bit, she begins to think that maybe school isn't all that bad.
As if school weren't enough to think about, there's Shiraz's best friend, Carrie. Carrie is the boy-crazy one who also manages to get the boy. On Valentine's Day, they go out on a double date. Carrie has a crush on one of the guys, and Shiraz has so little fun, she begins to wonder if she's even into the opposite sex at all. Her makeup makes her look like Sideshow Bob, and she's flat-chested. No wonder Eric, her date, seems to have no interest in her at all.
Eric isn't her true love, though. That title belongs to Bezzie, who she later starts dating. This puts a strain on her relationship with Shiraz, which we see played out through Shiraz's eyes.
A year in Shiraz's life unfolds through her diary, which is peppered with funny slang words that will delight and interest the American reader. The diary reads as if Shiraz is speaking directly to the audience, which makes it much more enjoyable. DIARY OF A CHAV is reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series, though it's not quite as clever or fun. Maybe it's because I'm not British, and this book was first a bestseller in the UK, but I found it almost too hard to read because Shiraz's accent is so different from my own.
