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Dee, Barbara
5 Reviews
(3)
4-6
Tally, whose classmates are tired of her superior-seeming attempts to help others, navigates awkward seventh-grade dynamics on a class trip to Washington, DC. Signs of a classmate's eating disorder force her to consider interfering despite others' annoyance. Dee nails the voice and characterization of preteens trying to find their place in the social order. Eating disorder resources are appended.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
(3)
YA
Eighth-grade theater girl Mattie finds herself playing Romeo opposite Gemma, her first girl-crush. Mattie struggles with her feelings: Does liking this one girl make her a lesbian? What happens if her classmates find out? The ending leaves Gemma's intentions toward Mattie fuzzy. It's refreshing to see a same-sex relationship featured in a light middle-school romp with clever (if not very deep) parallels to Romeo and Juliet.
Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester
(3)
4-6
After two years of hospitalization, Norah begins middle school as a leukemia survivor. She wants to be a regular seventh grader--maybe join art club and have a crush on a boy--but her protective parents and the unwelcome attention from kids and teachers make normalcy difficult. Norah's voice is fresh and distinctive as she faces her new reality with a sense of humor.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
(2)
4-6
Lia, who recently lost her mom in a car accident, decides to spend the summer before seventh grade with eccentric Aunt Shelby in Maine. At summer's end, Lia and her friends reunite--and then proceed to test, challenge, bully, and deceive one another at school. The book's structure makes for fast reading; by book's end, the characters emerge as more empowered and independent young women.
Reviewer: Julie Roach
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2016
(4)
4-6
Sixth grader Zoe, who feels overshadowed by her more interesting family members, is floundering at her school for the gifted. When Lucas, a cryptanalytic prodigy, discovers Zoe's ability to read ciphers, he pushes her to examine herself and her place at school. Though some of the secondary characters are annoyingly larger-than-life, Zoe is sympathetic. An explanation of ciphers and their keys is appended. Bib.
Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor
5 reviews
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