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Weston, Carol
7 Reviews
(2)
YA
Sofia, still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, finds comfort in her email correspondence with teen advice columnist "Dear Kate"--until she discovers that Kate is her dad's new girlfriend. Weston imparts insights about life and loss throughout, tracing Sofia's increasing maturity. Supported by sympathetic friends and family, Sofia faces each new challenge in her life with honesty, bravery, and humor.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2017
(4)
4-6
Ava (Ava and Pip) at long last gets a pet: a rescued cat. While Taco acclimates to his new home, Ava struggles with early adolescence and changing friendships but finds great success with her writing. A surprising conflict arises around Taco, with a satisfying solution. Some secondary characters are too thin, but Ava and her family are recognizable with their quirks and dynamics.
Reviewer: Pam Yosca
(3)
4-6
In a series of diary entries spanning four months, bright and bubbly Ava, youngest in a family of self-professed "word nerds," describes her efforts to help her painfully shy older sister develop a social life. In the process, she makes a new friend herself. Ava's journey toward a more mature awareness of her own feelings--and those of others--makes for infectious reading.
Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn
(4)
4-6
Melanie might have a crush on two boys, and her best friend has a new friend (to Melanie, an interloper). Melanie's diary entries are full of her realistic insecurities and embarrassments, not to mention tours of Manhattan (with cute Miguel, visiting from Spain). While many plot elements are rehashed from her previous adventures, Melanie is a believable fifth-grader.
Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman
(4)
4-6
Melanie Martin is abroad again with her family, this time in Spain. Angst ensues over whether or not her mother is too excited to see her old college boyfriend, and whether his twelve-year-old son is flirting with Melanie or just being friendly. While characters don't always ring true, Melanie certainly sounds like a typical overdramatic eleven-year-old.
Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman
Weston, Carol
Melanie Martin Goes Dutch: The Private Diary of My Almost Bummer Summer with Cecily, Matt the Bra
(4)
4-6
When her mother wins a grant to study van Gogh in Amsterdam, about-to-be-fifth-grader Melanie, her younger brother, and her best friend Cecily spend a week touring the city and surrounding areas. While Melanie's resentment of the attention her family shows Cecily (whose mother is in the hospital) is believable, her subsequent about-face is not as convincing. The diary smoothly incorporates art history lessons on various Dutch artists.
Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman
Weston, Carol
The Diary of Melanie Martin: Or How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower o
(4)
4-6
It's spring vacation and Melanie Martin is off to Italy with her family and her new diary. Not a moment is left undocumented, including a visit to the emergency room and losing her brother in the Vatican. Though many of the situations have quick resolutions, Melanie's matter-of-fact narration is amusing and carries the story through to the end.
Reviewer: Melissa Gruntkosky
7 reviews
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