ARC Review : Confessions of a So-called Middle Child by Maria T. Lennon (YA)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17332526-confessions-of-a-so-called-middle-child

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Book Blurb

It's Mean Girls for tweens in the tradition of Paula Danziger's Cat That Ate My Gymsuit and Judy Blume! Watch out, world: here comes Charlie C. Cooper-computer whiz, reformed bully, and so-called middle child-in this seriously funny debut tween novel from screenwriter Maria T. Lennon.

Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child stars the hilariously cheeky reformed bully and tween hacker Charlie Cooper as she tries to ditch her middle-child reputation and make cool friends at her new school in Los Angeles. But being cool isn't as easy as it looks. Charlie has to face down the mean girls and decide between right and wrong once and for all when she learns the terrible truth behind Marta the Farta's bad attitude and loner status. And Charlie has to do it all in outfits meant for the runways!

Maria T. Lennon has created a fresh and fun story that brings Mean Girls to the tween level, peppered with snarky asides, major attitude, and advice to spare from Charlie-whether you asked for it or not.

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Book Excerpt

"Her name was Marta the Farta, and you could see her from space, she was that bad. She had a beard, teeth the color of butter, and a nest of hair that defied gravity and provided homes for small animals; and yes, she loved to fart. But she was also the most talented gymnast I'd ever seen in my life. We're talking Olympics time. So anyway, this is the story of how I changed her life, and yeah, all right, fine, how she changed mine."

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Toot's Review by Stacy Sabala

This story finds twelve year old Charlie Cooper getting ready to start a new school. She had been kicked out of her last one after an incident with laxatives in the school food. She has been pretty much locked in her room all summer and required to see a shrink. She has been encouraged to change her ways. Her main goal in life has been to be popular and fashionable. Her shrink has made a deal with her where if she finds the student in her new school that is bullied the most and help them, then she can stop coming to see him. 

She tries to figure out a way around the deal and still win. Her new friends are similar to the ones she had in her old school. Charlie wants to really play the game and be popular, but this deal is still hanging over her head. She is growing a conscious and figuring out what is the right and wrong thing to do. 

This book had me laughing out loud as I could picture this girl as she moved through the story. In fact I laughed so hard at one part I was crying. I loved that. This story is also one that all middle school girls should read. The mean girls that are everywhere were in top form and Charlie still did what she had to do. 

The characters in the story were great. The dynamic between siblings was very believable. I felt sorry for Charlie as her principal was a bit of a jerk who judged her harshly. Her teacher was a bit oblivious about the things happening in his own class. I’d hope that would not be the case in an actual situation. It did make for great situations for Charlie to excel in sarcasm. 

The author also pushed the girls to the ultimate mean prank and bullying situation. The two girls would do anything to get their way and hurt anyone in the process. It was interesting to see how a twelve year old girl can be so self-centered to believe in her entitlement. Unfortunately there are more girls out there like this then we want to think. 

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I would give this a 4 out of 5 rating