Greene entertains with another story about the irrepressible Sophie (Queen Sophie Hartley, 2005, and Sophie Hartley, On Strike, 2006). Her birthday is quickly approaching, and she is “passionate” about getting a gorilla. But life has a way of distracting her from her plans: Big sis Nora eagerly moves out of their room, good friend Alice confesses to getting a bra, other friend Jenna is absorbed with new, lacrosse-team responsibilities, dad is squirreled away in the garage making who-knows-what and odd kid Brendan keeps sneaking up on her. Worried that her “double-digit” birthday may result in changing her creative if often far-fetched and so-called immature ideas, she finds solace in making humorous portraits and filling her room with clashing bright colors. The author keeps the dilemmas light and funny with pacing that reaches a touching crescendo on Sophie’s big day. No matter what, faithful good friends and a sweetly accepting family result in a warm, fuzzy ending. Girls undergoing the same growing-up trials will be happy to have Sophie make them laugh. (Fiction. 8-12)
