Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child

By Maria T. Lennon

ISBN# 9780062126900

Author’s Website: http://www.mariatlennon.com/ 

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Valerie

Synopsis:

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.

Check out an 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.”

 Review:

Clarification: Three stars is not a terrible rating for me. For me, three stars describes potential and the readability , if you know what I mean.

This is a cute book. Typical middle child (or should I say not so typical) in a very interesting setting. It’s not always that you get to read about a girl named Marta the Farta who’s a talented gymnast at the same time. It’s pretty atypical, to tell you the truth.

In a sense, I guess it’s not Charlie’s fault that I didn’t really like her. I guess she was supposed to be quite a brat. I hated how self-centered she was in the beginning, but the character growth was quite significant. Even now however, I still don’t like Charlie that much.

The main thing that got me is how cliche the book is. Believe me when I say I know what middle school is like. It’s not that cliched. There may be mean girls and girls like Marta, but there’s no one to Marta’s extremes. Teeth the color of butter? Not in middle school! Honestly, this book is a little immature in a sense about the farting.

However, this is a cute book with a lot of potential, so if you ask me, it’s definitely worth a read.