The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole

                                                       Title: The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole

Author: Sue Townsend

Genre: Realistic Fiction 

Pages: 304

Adrian's dysfunctional family, as in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, is one of the main points of the book. While Adrian's entries are full of humour, sarcasm and irony, they still speak to a great deal of confusion  with the dysfunctional relationships of his parents. Sometimes Adrian's diary entries show him to be naive; other times they are very candid; and other times they are full of self-pity. As an only child (at least as the book begins), Adrian has a tendency to look at all problems from a selfish point of view, yet he seems to have a real compassion for the members of his family.

This book also builds on its predecessor by continuing the storyline of Adrian's growing frustration with his body. He constantly writes about the "spots" that mar his complexion, and he also has self-esteem issues about his height and muscular maturity.