''The Teenage Textbook'' is a novel by the

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

an author Adrian Tan, first published by Hotspot Books in 1988. The book was a bestseller in Singapore, and was followed by a sequel, ''

The Teenage Workbook ''The Teenage Workbook'' is a humour fiction novel by Adrian Tan, first published by Hotspot Books in 1989. The book is the sequel to '' The Teenage Textbook'' (published in 1988). Both novels focused on the lives of four students studying at t ...

'', in 1989. The books followed the life of a female student named Mui Ee, studying at the fictitious Paya Lebar Junior College in Singapore. The two books sold over 50,000 copies. Tan wrote the books while he was an undergraduate law student at the National University of Singapore. In 2015, ''The Teenage Textbook'' was selected by '' The Business Times'' as one of the Top 10 English Singapore books from 1965–2015, alongside titles by

Arthur Yap Arthur Yap Chioh Hiong (; 1943 – 19 June 2006) was a Singaporean poet, writer and painter. Biography Arthur Yap was born in Singapore, the sixth child of a carpenter and a housewife. Yap attended St Andrew's School and the University of Si ...

and

Daren Shiau Daren Shiau, BBM, PBM (Chinese: 萧维龙, born 1971), is a Singaporean novelist, poet, conservationist, and lawyer in private practice qualified in Singapore, England and Wales. He is an author of five books. Education Shiau was born in S ...

Adaptations

In 1997, ''The Teenage Textbook'' was made into a stage play by

The Necessary Stage The Necessary Stage (previously known as M1 Theatre Connect and M1 Youth Connection) is a Singaporean non-profit theatre company with charity status. Formed in 1987 by Alvin Tan, The Necessary Stage was established with its own mission to creat ...

, starring

Hossan Leong Hossan Leong (; born 10 July 1969) is a Singaporean stage and screen actor, television host, radio deejay and comedian. Personal life He was born 10 July 1969 in Singapore, Leong was educated at Anglo-Chinese School and Anglo-Chinese Junior Col ...

and Mark Richmond. In 1998, it was also made into a film, ''

The Teenage Textbook Movie ''The Teenage Textbook Movie'' is a film adaptation of Adrian Tan's bestselling 1988 novel '' The Teenage Textbook''. It is a lighthearted look at the lives of four students in Singapore as they start junior college. Premise When Mui Ee attends ...

'', starring Melody Chen and Caleb Goh, which topped the box office in Singapore for four weeks. In 2021, the book was reimagined by Drew Pan as a TV series titled ''Teenage Textbook – The Series'', on Channel 5, starring Xuan Ong, Chen Yixin, and Chris Mak.

References

External links

Interview with Adrian Tan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teenage Textbook, The Singaporean novels Novels set in Singapore 1988 novels