I picked up this middle-grade book from the new J books cart a few weeks ago, having remembered seeing a glowing review on Amazon.com by a librarian who writes very detailed reviews of children's books (E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird"). I really loved this book! It is the story of Emma Jean, a logical, though not emotionless, girl who can't understand why her classmates lives are so full of chaos and unbridled emotion. The first paragraph of the book well illustrates Emma's way of thinking:
Emma-Jean Lazarus knew very well that a few of the seventh-grade girls at William Gladstone Middle School were criers. They cried if they got a 67 on an algebra test or if they dropped their retainer into the trash in the cafeteria. They cried if their clay mug exploded in the kiln and when they couldn't finish the mile in gym. Two even cried in science, when Mr. Petrowski announced it was time to dissect a sheep's eyeball. Of course Emma-Jean had no intention of participating in such a barbaric and unhygenic activity. But crying was not a logical way of expressing one's opposition to the seventh-grade science curriculum.
Think Mr. Spock reborn in a seventh-grader's body. The book chronicles Emma-Jean's misguided attempts to help her classmates deal with problems in their lives, for Emma, though detached from her peers, still feels a need to help them. She is also dealing with the death of her beloved father, and the introduction of a possible new suitor for her mother. She is a sympathetic character, and the growth she experiences was really touching.
This book was funny and sweet, and I really enjoyed reading it. It's a quick read, and though some of the vocabulary is advanced, I would recommend it to 5-7th graders, and to anyone who loves a quirky, touching story.
