After Johanna Morrigan makes a laughing stock of herself and her family on public TV, she decides to become a new person:  Dolly Wilde, a confident, crazy, fast-talking “Lady Sex Adventurer."  Johanna devotes herself to becoming Dolly Wilde, which isn't easy for a chubby teenager with bad self-esteem and a love of literature. Exacerbating Johanna’s problems is her family’s poverty in Wolverhampton. Johanna gets a job writing reviews for a music magazine and befriends many interesting people, but soon Johanna realizes that there is a flaw in the very core of Dolly Wilde.

Moran has created a fantastic narrator in this book. Johanna’s affinity for books and words creates beautiful sentences, while the majority of the book is told with a flowing casualness and emotion. Moran deals with many mature themes such as class divisions in England. Johanna’s hard-knock upbringing in Wolverhampton adds a satisfying depth to the story. It also deals with feminist issues such as women’s sexuality and representation in the media and the workplace. The struggles and mental health issues Johanna faces throughout the novel feel like a bullet in your heart when you read it, and that sort of emotional connection and pain is the sign of a good novel for me.

Although there were many good things about this novel, there was a lot of explicit content. This is not a children's book.  It is very detailed, and the author seems to choose language that accentuates the events. The book moved slightly slower than is ideal and would have benefited from a more distinct plot. Apart from that, this was a very good book that dealt with many important issues with an endearing character and sharp wit.