owl's well that ends well
Tallulah Casey is back in Heckmondwhite to hone her theater craft and achieve the golden slippers of applause. She is looking forward to joining with her Tree Sisters at Dother Hall and talk about those boys of Woolfe Academy. She is back to spend time with her friend Ruby and Ruby’s dog Matilda, and to get huge messy hugs from the twin Dobbins boys where she lodges.
And she’s back for the Lululuuuve List, where she lists out her activity with boys, like the time she was kissed by a boy acting like a bat. Or the time Charlie kissed her but then apologized and told her that he had a girlfriend. Or the time Cain kissed her and she liked it a lot even though he was a local bad boy who was known for treating girls terribly.
But she has a bigger problem. The head of the school, Dr. Lightowler, seems to hate her. She is not a fan of Tallulah’s spontaneous Irish dancing and feels like her “art” is not appropriate for the school. Tallulah does struggle, as she doesn’t have the singing or dancing skills that some of her friends have, but other teachers have told her that she has something special. And when she performs, whether it’s her Sugar Plum Bikey extravaganza or playing the donkey in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, people in the audience are mesmerized by her. Her friends all believe in her. So all Tallulah has to do is to convince Dr. Lightowler that she belongs at Dother Hall.
The play this term is Taming of the Shrew, and Tallulah is determined to make it her best. But Dr. Lightowler is determined to undermine her. She turns to her friends for help, but they are so boy-crazy, it seems like sometime she is along. She liked Charlie, but the boys of Woolfe Academy can rarely leave so she doesn’t get to talk to him often. The teachers at school are working hard in the community to try to earn some extra money for the school, which is struggling, so Tallulah has to look harder inside herself to find her voice, to believe in herself, and to figure out the big question: which one of the boys in her life is the one she wants to kiss?
The Taming of the Tights is the final book in the Tallulah Casey series from Louise Rennison. These books celebrate Northern England as well as the lives and humor of theatrical teenager girls. The Tallulah Casey books are fun, funny, sweet, and a little bit completely bonkers. Personally, I was hoping this would turn into a nice, long series for us to enjoy, but Rennison passed before we could get any more than three. But these three books are a gift to readers, as are her Georgia Nicolson books, and I will reread them over and over when I need some complete bonkers in my life.
