Once again, the wonderful people at Fitzhenry and Red Deer Press are to be thanked for sending me this book.
TITLE: How to Ruin your Life
AUTHOR: Carolyn McTighe
GENRE: Middle Grade
RATING: 4 Stars
PJ wants to find another friend - preferably one who won't insist on "being better". What is interesting in this book is the journey that PJ makes from the start where she can't quite deal with her jealousy and the loss of her friend to the end where she ends up learning a lesson, through trial and error.
A book that is quite entertaining but that also provides a strong message - i enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed the storyline. A must for all middle grade readers.I don't normally read alot of middle grade books as I find that I am just a little too far removed to identify with the characters. However, I must admit that I absolutely loved PJ or Penelope. This character was so well written, incorporating some of the most wonderful features of a young girl who has her entire life in front of her.
PJ is an athlete who has to deal with the fact that her best friend Katie, who has never been much of an athlete somehow manages to win over PJ, which, in turn, seriously challenges their friendship.
2 comments:
If a middle grade book is written well enough, they are a pleasure to read, even for us adults!
This book is great. I read it, but I noticed a couple of mistakes in the text. In the beginning of the story, it says P.J's principal's name is Mr. Smiley, then, later in the book, when she is trying to beat Katie at recess and runs into someone named Mr. Shepard who in the text is their principal. Do they have two principals? There are two different names in the story. The second mistake was that in the beginning of P.J's introducing herself, she says she's in 4th grade, and later in the book on pg 54, it says her day in fifth grade would be ruined. but it never said P.J was in fifth grade.
Post a Comment