Awkward.

I'm not ashamed to say it: I love teenager stuff. Sure, I'm now officially hit the mid-20s mark, but I still read YA fiction and watch Pretty Little Liars. You know what? I'll probably still do these things when I'm 40. That's just my style. One of my favorite teen-centric shows, MTV's Awkward. just came back for a second season, and I highly recommend it. Awkward. is the story of Jenna Hamilton, a girl who isn't exactly a social outcast, but is by no means part of the popular crowd. She ends up having sex with Matty, her school's most popular guy, while at summer camp, but he wants to keep their hookup a secret, as Jenna is kind of a loser. Jenna then receives a "carefrontation" letter telling her that she's basically invisible, her friends suck, and she needs to make some major changes if she doesn't want to end up a permanent loser. A series of events lead Jenna to have an (actual, legitimate) accident that, in addition to the carefrontation letter, makes it look like she tried to commit suicide. Because of her accident Jenna also breaks her arm and has to be in a neck brace and uncomfortable cast for the first few weeks of school. Finally Jenna is noticed around school, but for all the wrong reasons.

Jenna deal with her drama by writing a blog, through which we get to hear her thoughts and learn what she's going through. She also has her two best girlfriends, Tamara and Ming. (Ming hardly gets any screen time though [I'm not saying it's because she's Asian and is therefore relegated to the background. But I'm not saying it's NOT because she's Asian. Work on that, MTV. I want more Ming], so mostly it's just Tamara.) Jenna, while hurt by the carefrontation, realizes that it's pretty much all true, and tries to change her life for the better. She also carries on a secret relationship with Matty, has a public relationship with Jake (Matty's BFF), battles the school bully Sadie, has mandatory meetings with the inept school counselor (as a result of her "suicide attempt"), and deals with her kooky parents (who themselves had Jenna when they were teenagers).

Awkward, while being a show on MTV, is actually high quality and totally legit. The writing is solid and the characters are well developed. The references and teen-speak are smart enough to entertain any age group, but still seem like things teenagers would say. The characters swear, and it's bleeped out, but it's done really well so as not to be annoying or over used. Overall, Awkward is a teen show that no one would be embarrassed to watch. Check it out and meet your latest addiction. The first season is available for streaming online, and the second season just started last Thursday.

Awkward: Season 1 free on MTV.com, Season 2 airs Thursdays at 10:30/9:30c