Lovers of hip, edgy or meta should look elsewhere, but this story carries its own brand of modest delight for the right...
Crammed with incident, yet loose and rambling and without much dramatic arc, this slice-of-life novel, the sixth in the series, charts Willa’s life, loves and personal growth though part of an event-filled summer.
There’s something refreshing and rather fabulous about the slightly dull Willa Havisham books (Willa by Heart, 2008, etc.). They star the nicest, most well-adjusted, dependable 14-year-old in the world, a book-loving girl who does her chores in the family business with good grace, loves the nurturing, community-minded adults in her life and strives to be the best person she can be. She doesn’t wear Jimmy Choos, obsess about her weight or, heaven forbid, smoke (anything); instead she tries to come up with a charitable project that’s really her. Not to say there’s no conflict. Willa wrestles with her feelings about her once-best friend, has minor disagreements with her driven businesswoman mother and is distressed (but also exhilarated) when she finds herself attracted to two boys at the same time. Set in a charming, fictional Cape Cod community, the story strolls along, never generating a great deal of heat or suspense, yet managing to keep readers involved and interested.
Lovers of hip, edgy or meta should look elsewhere, but this story carries its own brand of modest delight for the right reader. (Fiction. 10-15)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-545-09405-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
Margot’s cautionary tale offers an insightful look at a young girl’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance.
With a mother who reads tarot cards, 2-year-old triplet half sisters and an embarrassing stepfather, Margot longs for a more mundane life.
On the eve of seventh grade, Margot has a lot to contend with, including a humiliating new nickname following a disastrous attempt to impress the popular crowd. Now that her BFF Erika is attending private school, Margot agonizes over how to capture the attention of her crush, Gorgeous George, while avoiding her arch nemesis, Sarah. In her haste to reinvent herself, Margot befriends edgy, cool new girl Em, entranced by Em’s defiant attitude toward Sarah. The constant barrage of Sarah’s subtle cruelty takes a toll on Margot, pushing her toward increasingly reckless behavior. Spurred on by Em, the situation between Margot and Sarah escalates and the stakes become dangerous as events spiral out of control. Ultimately, Margot must decide if being popular is worth sacrificing everything she knows to be right. Through Margot’s transformation from quiet girl to troublemaker, Humphrey thoughtfully explores the repercussions of bullying. Preteen readers will relate to Margot’s insecurities about her looks and her longing to fit in.
Margot’s cautionary tale offers an insightful look at a young girl’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance. (Fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4231-2301-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
A pleasant, if gimmicky, romantic comedy.
A teenager fed up with the consequences of her actions creates an anonymous blog and asks readers to take control of her life choices.
As a toddler, Brooklyn Pierce followed a lizard into a mineshaft, and her multi-day rescue operation received national television coverage. Now, having just burned down her realtor mother's model home in an ill-fated drunken party, Brooklyn is grounded, socially exiled and sentenced to 200 hours of community service. That decision-making is the issue at hand is impressed on readers at every corner, from the police officer who says of her mineshaft misstep, “I bet you regret that decision, huh?” to the You Choose the Story novels Brooklyn reads to Miss Moody, a cantankerous resident at the assisted-living facility where Brooklyn does her community service. Putting her every decision to a vote on her blog forces Brooklyn into new territory: She joins the debate team, hangs out with nerds to whom she has previously given the cold shoulder and forgoes sneaking out despite an invitation from a hot newcomer. That her blog becomes popular enough to go viral is difficult to believe, but the tugs she feels between her new life and her old one, her own decision-making and her readers', create engaging drama.
A pleasant, if gimmicky, romantic comedy. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-39905-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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