Delightful Spring Treat for Middle Grade Girls!!

I've been so busy with my adult book reading the past few weeks, that I've sadly neglected my children's book reading. I rectified that situation yesterday with a visit to my favorite independent children's bookstore in our area, Cover to Cover.

I actually went in to buy three baby shower books, but it came as no surprise to me that I couldn't limit myself to just those three books. So, while I browsed and was assisted by the very knowledgeable Beth, I managed to find a few books I just had to have.

I am a huge Wendy Mass fan!! When I saw her latest, Finally, on the shelf, I knew I just had to have it.

I feel like Finally is sort of Mass's ode to girls of this age (11 - 13) who go through awkward phases as they try to discover who they are and what is really important (besides what all their friends have). I'm talking about the girls whose parents won't allow them to go to the mall by themselves, girls whose parents see no reason they need a cell phone even when "everybody else" has them, girls who want to have pierced ears but aren't allowed, girls who have no fashion sense, girls who would love to wear makeup but either aren't allowed or don't know how to apply it well or are horribly allergic to certain kinds of makeup and break out in welts when applying it, girls who wear big glasses because they haven't made the transition to contacs yet, girls who aren't allowed to stay home alone, girls who don't have many friends, girls who have younger siblings that can quickly take off their pants and run butt naked through Applebee's while the popular kids are sitting there watching and laughing, girls who have no idea about how to make conversation with boys.

The main character in Finally, Rory, is just such a girl. Rory, in addition to having the same name as a BOY in her grade, is a girl like the one described above. Her parents are very protective of her, and whenever she has wanted to stretch her wings a little, and asks her parents for something, they always tell her to wait until she is 12 years old.

The story starts on the day before Rory will turn twelve. In fact, frequently through the book, Rory has a countdown on how many hours, minutes, and seconds are left until midnight when the day of her birthday arrives. For years, whenever Rory has asked her parents for something, only to be told to wait until she was twelve, she wrote her wishes on scraps of paper, and kept them in a shoebox. She didn't want to possibly forget even one of the privileges she has so been looking forward to.

To add a little spice to the already quirky story line of becoming a 12 year old, Mass adds a movie being filmed at Rory's school, and an opportunity for the students to become extras in the movie. The reason this is such a big deal is that Jake Harrison, THE current heartthrob of all tweens, will be starring in the movie. When Jake actually notices and talks to Rory (almost always because of some unfortunate incident), the reader can't help but be happy for her.

Mass brings back three characters from 11 Birthdays -- Amanda, Leo, and Angelina. I don't think you have to read 11 Birthdays to still enjoy this story, but it did make it more fun -- I felt like I was in on the joke that no one else knew.

There are many laugh-out-loud funny parts as one awkward thing after another happens to Rory. But Mass wrote it in such a way that I didn't feel like I was laughing at Rory, but rather at the situational comedy of being a 12 year old. Most importantly, however, is what Rory realizes when she sees herself through other's eyes at the very end of the story. Turns out all those things Rory had been wanting for so long were not the things that make her the special, amazing person she is.

I will be sharing Finally with my class tomorrow. I already have many Wendy Mass fans in my classroom, so it will be fun to see how fast it flies out of my hands! I'm hoping they decide to read it together as a book club. I envision lots of fun conversation. It is truly a most delightful book!!!

11 Birthdays is a Treat

Well, it's been so long since I've written a post about a book, I'm afraid I might have forgotten what to do. However, if I was going to end my work-induced sabbatical from reviewing, 11 Birthdays is the perfect "come-back" book!

I got this book as an ARC way back in September. I jumped at the opportunity to read 11 Birthdays because it is written by an author (Wendy Mass) who wrote another book I truly enjoyed -- Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life.

Right away, I noticed a connection between the two texts -- the main characters in both books are a boy and a girl. And better yet, they are a rare thing for children who are ages 10 and 11 --they are good friends.

That is, Amanda and Leo have been inseparable friends for the past ten years. They were born in the same hospital on the same day, and ever since that time, they celebrate each of their birthdays together with some sort of themed party.

Things went off-track when they were celebrating their tenth birthday together, and Amanda happened to overhear Leo telling a group of boys, who were questioning him about why he had his birthday party with a girl, that he only did it because he felt sorry for Amanda. Amanda was devastated by this news, and promptly left the party, never to talk to Leo at all during the next year.

Fast forward to the day of their respective eleventh birthdays. They are each having their own separate birthday party for the first time ever -- Amanda is having a costume party, and Leo is having a hypnotist, famous football player, and a band at his party. Leo's is the party everyone at school is talking about.

For Amanda (the narrator), the entire day goes badly. She has to take the bus to school, she forgets her lunch, her best friend, Stephanie, doesn't see her on the bus and sits with someone else, her locker door won't open, there is a pop quiz in her first class, she has to eat leftovers from other people's lunches at school, she tries out for the gymnastics team after school, but freezes and can't perform her back handspring, her mom is fired from her job, the Dorothy costume her mom rented for her birthday party is too tight and the red shoes pinch her feet and give her blisters, lots of kids just dropped presents off but didn't stay because they went to Leo's birthday instead, and even Stephanie, the best friend, abandons her to go to Leo's after a while. All in all, a dismal birthday, and Amanda can't wait to go to sleep and wake up to a brand new day.

And this is where things get interesting in a "Groundhog Day" kind of way (though for me, these kids are much more enjoyable than Bill Murray). The next morning Amanda wakes up to find out it is the day of her 11th birthday again. Imagine having to relive a day as miserable as her "first" eleventh birthday was. Amanda is in disbelief at first, but after many attempts at trying to prove this is some elaborate practical joke her family is playing on her, she is finally resigned to re-doing the day all over again. She finally gets to the end of the day, and just dearly hopes that tomorrow will be a NEW day.

Well, as I'm sure you can guess, that doesn't happen. Though I felt badly for Amanda, each 11th birthday replay becomes a little different and much more interesting, which makes it fun for the reader. The plot really starts to move along when we realize Amanda is not the only one reliving her birthday -- Leo is also.

I don't want to give away much more, but the plotting to try to break the birthday replay cycle, the spells that got them into this mess in the first place, and the gradual rebuilding of a life-long friendship are great reasons to read 11 Birthdays. This was a delightful read for me. It's due out January 1, 2009 -- be sure to put it on your "To Be Read" list!!!