Sunday Sundaes

February 1, 2018

Gr 3-6-Allie arrives home from camp to find out that her parents are getting divorced, she's moving and must attend a new school, and her mom is opening up an ice cream store. The ice cream store isn't so bad, but a new school means leaving her best friends, Sierra and Tamiko, and no longer being in charge of Book Fest. Allie isn't happy. On the first day of school, three mean girls target her, and the rocky transition is further complicated by her feelings of jealousy that Sierra is running the Book Fest and that Tamiko and Sierra have made a new friend. With the successful opening of the ice cream shop and some new pals, Allie finds a way to stand up to the mean girls and see Sierra and Tamiko every week. A cat named Diana (after Anne Shirley's best friend) and other literary references are sprinkled throughout, which renders this title tailor-made for book lovers. Written by the author of the popular "Cupcake Diaries" books, this is the first entry in a new series. The trauma of divorce and bullying are dealt with superficially, but perhaps these issues will be explored in more depth as the series progresses. Allie's feelings towards the changes in her life and her best friends' new friend are relatable and realistic. VERDICT Purchase for collections aimed at reluctant readers, where light-hearted realism is in demand and where the "Cupcake Diaries" are popular.-Kefira Phillipe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, IL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2018
Grades 4-6 Returning home after seven weeks at summer camp, Allie is blindsided by the news that her parents are divorcing, and that's not all. Ten days later, she, her mother, and her brother have moved to a nearby town, and she's starting seventh grade at a school full of strangers. Shocked and angry, Allie's on an emotional roller-coaster and has problems adjusting. She becomes a target of mean girls at her new school, while feeling that her two best friends are slipping away. But when they decide to work alongside her at the ice-cream store, Mom's new business, things begin to turn around. The writer of the 31-volume Cupcake Diaries series, Simon quickly sets up the basis of an ice-cream-themed series involving Allie, her family, and her friends, old and new. Written from Allie's point of view, the narrative reflects her reasonable reactions to an overload of stress, though she breaks through to a hopeful new perspective more quickly than might be expected. This very readable chapter book seems sure to please Simon's fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)