Through Lucy’s perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit, Greenwald reminds readers that dreams are worth pursuing.
In this sequel to My Life in Pink & Green (2009), 13-year-old Lucy returns, industrious, resourceful and determined to succeed.
Instrumental in devising a plan to preserve her family's business with the creation of an eco-spa, Lucy is proud of her accomplishments. With development of the spa underway at their family pharmacy, Lucy is eager to immerse herself in the preparations. However, Lucy’s schemes for summer quickly go awry. Greenwald explores the myriad challenges in Lucy’s life with a discerning understanding of pre-adolescence, addressing universal themes that will resonate with readers. One of the many quandaries Lucy faces is her conflicting emotions surrounding her evolving relationship with buddy Yamir. Also, although Lucy proposed the eco-spa concept, the adults in her family have taken over the operation of the project. Despite these obstacles, Lucy diligently persists in her endeavors—surreptitiously attending a meeting designed to help owners of small businesses and continuing to seek out opportunities for the spa. Ultimately, when the opening-day plans are in jeopardy, it is Lucy’s clever ingenuity that resolves the dilemma.
Through Lucy’s perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit, Greenwald reminds readers that dreams are worth pursuing. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0413-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
After his mother sustains a serious head injury, 14-year-old Travis faces enough challenges to leave a lesser kid in despair. His unsavory father, coping badly after the accident, loses his job, pulls the boy’s older sister out of school to watch the younger children and, in anger, kicks Travis out. He leaves home, deep in the Adirondacks, with a few dollars, an inherited guitar and only enough food for a day or two. When that runs out, he gamely tries to live off edible weeds gathered along the roadside. Although he encounters his share of scoundrels, especially one who steals his guitar, helpful, sympathetic adults, including a talented guitar-maker running a guitar-picking contest, recognize the teen’s plight and intervene in ways both subtle and not to guide him toward workable solutions. Initially a bit stilted, this effort quickly hits its stride, mostly due to well-drawn, believable characters and the strength of Travis’s nearly indomitable spirit. While the satisfying conclusion may seem overly optimistic, it is nothing more than this endearing teen deserves. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9112-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
Seventh-grade friends Olivia, Georgia and Kate can’t wait for Valentine’s Day. Olivia hopes that Phillip Becker-Jacobs, the constant subject of her Observation Notebook, will give her a handmade valentine; Kate is convinced her latest crush will ask her out; and Georgia is looking forward to a special dinner at Chen’s Kitchen, her family’s restaurant. When a blizzard disrupts their Valentine’s Day plans, the girls, stuck in their Brooklyn apartment building, try to salvage the day by making fortune cookies in Chen’s Kitchen and delivering them to their reclusive neighbors. Olivia, Georgia and Kate hope the treats will spread some cheer and bring everyone together, but as the day progresses, they find their friendship falling apart, and the building feels as lonely as ever. Olivia has always believed there’s a bit of magic in Chen’s Kitchen’s cookies, and that’s exactly what the girls need to stop Valentine’s Day from being a complete disaster. As told in their alternating voices, Olivia, Georgia and Kate’s escapades—filled with nosy parents, pesky siblings and plenty of boy drama—will resonate with young teens. The story is as sweet as the treats the girls dole out. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8109-8990-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
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