Maureen is not a fan of middle school. She doesn't really have any friends, and she'd rather eat cupcakes than have gym glass. She's definitely not one of the ThreePees - the girls who are pretty, perfect, and popular. She's always stayed kind of under the radar, though...until the day when she sacrifices herself to save Allergy Alice from a ThreePee-led peanut attack. Then Maureen decides that enough is enough. Reluctantly she joins up with Alice and "Beanpole" Barbara to beat the ThreePees at their own game: the 8th grade talent show.(Spoilers below)
I spent a lot of time while reading this book not knowing quite what to make of it. Maureen is a difficult narrator. How important is it for a reader to like the narrator? I really disliked her (as much as I can like an imaginary thirteen year old) for the first 100 pages of the book. But she never completely lost me, I guess, because I kept reading. And even though I'm still not a fan of hers as a person, I did end up sympathizing with her, especially when she was angry and frustrated and went off her diet in a cupcake spree. I think I might enjoy a second book about these girls more than this first one, because there (hopefully) would be less of Maureen being mean to the other two girls, and more time spent getting to know Alice and Barbara a bit better.
(Also, on another note, are we back to featuring socks on covers?)
I read a review copy provided through NetGalley from Disney.
See more about the book at The Nerd Girls World.
Find it at IndieBound.
Read it with:
The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Amigas: A Formal Affair by Veronica Chambers
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
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