Amy's Choice

September 15, 2014
High school freshman Amy, who befriended both an orphaned seal pup and a tough local kid in her first outing, is back for another placidly entertaining outing that takes up where Call Me Amy (2013) ended. It's 1973, and the raciest thing that seems to be happening in Amy's small coastal Maine town is some illicit teen cigarette smoking. Craig, for whom she has been entertaining romantic feelings, is away, and Cat and her somewhat nerdy older brother Ricky have recently moved to Port Wells. Amy and Cat befriend Finn, a retired lighthouse keeper and budding artist. When a shed catches fire, he's blamed, but Amy suspects the two girls who have always relentlessly bullied her. After Craig returns to town, she must decide whether to accompany him or Ricky to the high school dance, even as she stands up to the bullies to keep Finn out of jail. For the most part, conflict is so quickly resolved that it fails to sustain suspense, leaving this effort largely character-driven. Amy's first-person voice is pleasant, straightforward and always so mild readers will wish for some feistiness to provide much-needed flavor. Calm, pleasant, decidedly "clean"-this blandly cheerful tale would have benefited from a bit of spice. (Historical fiction.10-14)

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November 1, 2014

Gr 6-9-Amy is beginning her freshman year of high school in the fall of 1973. She spent her summer working in the town's new public library. Her love interest, Craig, moves to Boston and Amy is worried about starting school again. Then she meets Cat and her brother Ricky. Cat works with Amy at the library, helping put new donations into the collection and starting a storytime program. The girls meet Finn, the lighthouse keeper, who paints landscapes of the ocean and the island. When a fire breaks out in the woodshed behind the library, Finn is blamed. Amy knows he didn't do it, but she can't prove it. Then Craig comes back and Amy doesn't know how she feels about him or about Ricky when they both ask her to the upcoming fall dance. This companion novel picks up a few weeks after the events in Call Me Amy (Luminis, 2013) and continues Amy's story. This is a gentle read with the most controversial issue being underage smoking. All the issues addressed here are wrapped up by the end of the novel and Amy is happy with her choices.-Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014
Grades 6-9 In Call Me Amy (2013), readers may recall our shy heroine fighting off bullies with subtle grace and how she defended others in need. This time Amy takes Finn under her protective wingan eccentric former lighthouse keeper and talented artist in their early 1970s Maine coastal town, who needs a little more kindness from others. With new friend Cat in tow, Amy helps to arrange an art show for Finn's paintings and, more important, stands by him when he is wrongly accused of arson. With each step outside her comfort zone, Amy suffers from nerves and self-doubt. Will Craig from last year want to resume their friendship? Will the town turn on Finn and believe the arson rumors? And yet with each risk Amy takes, her confidence grows. A messagey, feel-good story to be sure (make good choices, stand up to the crowd, help the underdog), but there is a unique charm here, too, and a quiet affirmation that what teens do matters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)