The best part about the holidays is showing all the cool stuff you got to your friends. This is a rule.
Allie Finkle is back for her third adventure. In the second, Allie "tamed" Rosemary--the girl who was bullying her. In the third, Allie is up for an even bigger challenge. Cheyenne. The new girl from Canada who LOVES to boss the whole class around--at least at lunch and recess. Allie, Erica, Caroline, Sophie, and Rosemary are having none of it. At least at first. They don't want to be told that they "have" to chase boys around at recess and try to kiss them. They don't want to "have" to "go with" a boy or face the consequences--being called immature babies. But. The stress of dealing with Cheyenne is putting stress on other friendships. Can Allie and her friends "survive" this new bully?
I love Allie Finkle. I do. I love her family--her two brothers Mark and Kevin, her mom, her dad, her Uncle Jay. I love her friends. I love how "real" these stories seem. How authentically kid-like Allie's narrative sounds. I am curious about Allie's school, however, how relaxed it seems. How the kids get to go home every day for lunch. How they have morning recess and afternoon recess. How Allie talks about having time--at school--to read The Boxcar Children books in the classroom library. How the book doesn't really ever mention homework. (Of course, that doesn't mean that Allie doesn't do homework or study or take tests. But it just seems strange how stress-free this fourth-grade is.)
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
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