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DEAR TONI by Cyndi Sand-Eveland

DEAR TONI

by Cyndi Sand-Eveland

Pub Date: Oct. 14th, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-88776-876-7
Publisher: Tundra Books

The assignment: For 100 days sixth-grader Gene Tucks must write a daily entry in a notebook that will be stored in a time capsule and opened 40 years in the future. At first Gene, who lives in Canada, pens miniscule journal entries (not unlike many of her American counterparts). But over these initial entries, Gene begins to visualize her audience, from a nobody to a somebody to a sixth-grader named Toni, best friend and listener. While Gene reveals her innermost thoughts, the entries are not confessional: They become a funny, honest recounting of this time in her life, when after a spell of unemployment her father gets a job and the family settles in to a free apartment behind the garage where he is the mechanic. Gene takes on responsibility (taking care of dogs), learns to makes friends and to stand up for herself. Aspects of the story are both poignant and palatable for young readers. Gene’s story is told in a marvelously authentic voice; delightful doodles accompany the text, which appears printed on faux–notebook paper. A great addition to middle-grade collections. (Fiction. 8-12)