July 15, 2011

Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me - by Lisa Papademitrou

Wow!  I know I'm not a preteen girl, but I still couldn't put this book down.  The writing was tightly wound and interesting, the characters very realistic and likable (or not, in some cases), and the plot just right for a summer read.  Are you a girl who will one day enter middle school, and who is afraid of how you'll fit in, or if you'll need to change your personality to be "cool"?  Read this book.

This is the tale of Allie, an incoming sixth-grade girl who could care less about the girly side of life, and just wants to play soccer, but whose best friend has her heart set on achieving coolness at their new school.  As they begin to make new friends and follow their interests, the girls' friendship is tested, as is Allie's courage and willingness to do what's right.  It's kind of a classic story-line, but given a fun twist by Allie's habit of making up new words (glommers, for instance) to describe the world around her.  The author uses this unique vocabulary to split the book into  chapters, which works well.  The other fun twist is another classic plot line, the idea that it's cool to be a nerd, which I just can't get enough of.

If you want a quick, fun, thoughtful story about life at a tricky age, love soccer, have best-friend problems, or want proof that it's okay to be smart, check this book out.

1 comment:

Ms. Yingling said...

You should also probably read one Lauren Myracle book, like Eleven, just to see how the other half lives. Glommers has circulated well in my library.