Girl, Fifteen, Charming But Insane is the most memorable title in a series of young adult books by Sue Limb. It is a British Coming of Age series about a young girl named Jess who must struggle with A-Cup Angst, a Love Triangle between a gorgeous, mysterious loner boy and her best friend. Sometimes affectionately referred to as Junior Bridget Jones, most of the plot lines revolve around romantic and endearingly embarrassing plot lines told from a teenager's perspective.
The series consists of the following titles.
- Girl, Barely Fifteen, Flirting England
- Girl, Fifteen, Charming But Insane
- Girl (Nearly) Sixteen, Absolute Torture
- Girl, Going On Seventeen, Pants On Fire
Contains examples of:
- A-Cup Angst: Jess is anxious about her small breasts. It's so severe that when she attends a party, Jess stuffs her bra with minestrone soup. Hilarity ensues.
- Affectionate Nickname: Flora calls Ben "BJ".
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Jess gets sidetracked constantly, usually by imagining bizarre scenarios.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Jess is actually quite clever, but mostly uses her wit for comedy purposes, and her history teacher gives her a lengthy lecture at the start of the first book about her underachieving ways.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Jess has a bit of this going for Fred, and he knows it, so he deliberately pretends to have lots of girls flirting with him to get her jealous, because he "likes it when she gets angry."
- Cute, but Cacophonic: Flore is described as incredibly pretty, but she can't sing to save her life. Which makes it hilarious that she's the lead singer of the garage band with Ben and Mackenzie.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Jess's history teacher cannot pronounce her 'R's, so it's hard for her students to take her seriously.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Jess realises she likes Fred when Flora admits she fancies him.
- I Call Him "Mister Happy": Jess's breasts are named Bonnie and Clyde. She gives them pep talks.
- The Reveal: Happens in Absolute Torture. The reason Jess's parents split up? Her dad is gay.
- Verbal Tic: Granny overuses "Dear".
- What the Hell, Hero?: Jess calls out Fred at the end of Pants on Fire for suggesting they keep their relationship a secret from everyone and pretend they're deadly enemies.
