Review: Teenage Diaries: The Days That Were

Teenage Diaries: The Days That Were by Saurabh Sharma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Teenage Diaries: The Days that were is a light-hearted teen story written by the author Saurabh Sharma. I am not going to delve into the story for this particular book but rather this will be what I felt and enjoyed in this book. The protagonist is a teen, pessimistic nerd and falls for the most beautiful girl in the class. So beyond these lines, I don’t think I have to say anything to sell this book. Rather these words made me read the book in the first place.


Most of the 90s kids are the nerds who never had the courage to break the rules and enjoy life or try to find meaning for that enjoyment. This is a perfect book for those 90s and 80s kids to revisit their teenage days to enjoy the nostalgia. The choice of words are pretty good and definitely brings a brimming smile in your face.

Narrating the story of Ghanshyam aka GK from his birth to school days with a lot of twists and turns. No no, not that kind of M. Night twist but rather the twist and changes that we have experienced in our life. This book is a light read, you can experience Nostalgia and recollect all the guilty pleasures from your teens.

Apart from all these things, one important thing I loved about the book is the character development. If you see any coming of age stories the character development might not be that strong and the story will be rushing to reach the climax. This book delves a bit into character development and slowly we get to understand the person is. This is kind of rare with page turners and just for that, you can read this book.

Having said all that the book has its own issues too. The vocabulary of the author is stunning but there is a chance that it might not be widely appreciated. For a page turner the simplicity plays a major role, some places it reduces the flow. The predictable ending is another issue, although entirely I can’t say it’s bad it somewhat brings the feel of predictability. These are some minor issues which can be forgiven for the kind of feel that the book gives until the end.

My final verdict for the book would be to read the book to see back your school life. A good time to savor those memories.


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