After reading Fashion Nation's entry about The Teenage Textbook ("TTTB") movie last night, I promptly searched for the book and its sequel, The Teenage Workbook ("TTWB") from the study for a dose of nostalgia. I'm so glad to be able to find them, even though they are in a tattered condition and some pages have already come undone. It evoked a strange feeling when I see in childish handwriting my name and the date "10 September 1988" written on the first page of TTTB. It's been a long while.The books are about life in junior college for a few students (and their teachers) and their adventures and misadventures on Valentine's Day (coincidentally, today is Valentines' Day, so have a great day!). An except from the Introduction of the TTTB:
"They say growing up is hard. That's rubbish. Anyone can grow up. Most people do (except perhaps DJs).
The problem is Teenhood.
That's right. Teenhood - that period of life between your tender 13 years and your naughty 19s. Everything is a mess. You have crushes. You have pimples. You have crushed pimples.
Worry no more. These books are for you.
Books? That's right...this book is actually a combination of two books.
One is a true story about some people I once knew at school. Some were nice, although one was a real creep. They were very unique people, mainly because they were perfectly normal, typical teenagers.
The other book is called The Teenage Textbook.
It's a book that teaches you how to survive your teenhood. It answers each and every one of the most important questions a teenage would everask himself, like"How will I know if I'm in love?" (p.56), "Why is there so much pain and suffering in this world?" (p.256) and "if there is intelligent life on Earch then why do people still watch wrestling matches?" (p.205)." "
It's not as funny as I remembered it to be (have I became more humourless?) but I still enjoyed the feelings of nostalgia reading about the trials and tribulations of the characters late into the wee hours of the night.
Information about the books if you are interested: Both were written by Adrian Tan and published by Hotspot Books.
TTTB: ISBN 981-3002-21-2
TTWB: ISBN 981-3002-28-X
