Confessions from the Principal's Kid

June 1, 2017
As the principal's kid, Allie West is both insider and outsider.She loves her secret, insider life: she gets to see what teachers are like when they're not being teachers, and her good pal Frances the custodian lets Allie use the floor buffer. Then there is the Afters, a club with three other students whose parents work at the school and who entertain themselves every afternoon with Eavesdropping Bingo and Random Acts of Awesomesauce. Despite these perks, Allie just wants to be a regular kid--being the principal's kid "is the worst." Her classmates avoid her since that one time she accidentally ratted on a classmate, her now-former best friend, Chloe. Allie believes two things will make her life normal and restore her to the good graces of the students of Mountain Crest Elementary: make amends with Chloe and earn acceptance to the Pentagon, the school's champion math club. Allie makes mistakes but takes things in stride; her cleareyed, first-person narration makes the story, and she's very easy to sympathize with. She'll have to learn that everyone has their own version of normal--and that maybe her life is her kind of normal. Aside from some non-Anglo surnames such as Cruz, Santos, and Alvarez, this school story inspired by the author's own experiences as a principal's kid appears to be populated by white people. Readers will feel they'd be lucky to have Allie as their best friend. (Fiction. 8-12)

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May 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-Allie West's mom is the school principal. In fifth grade, that's more of a curse than a blessing. Allie's an outsider, and after she accidentally tattles on her best friend Chloe, the whole school thinks she's a snitch and won't talk to her or invite her anywhere. Her only friends are the Afters, kids whose parents work for the school and must stay late each day. Even though the Afters plan fun activities to do after school, they don't talk to one anther during the day. So during school hours, Allie still feels like she has no one. While trying to repair her friendship with Chloe and get some real friends, Allie doesn't realize she's abandoning the ones who have always been there for her. The pace is leisurely, with a plot twist near the end. This is a sweet story line, where characters behave a little on the juvenile side for their age but sometimes speak as if they are a generation or two older ("It's actually a riveting conversation."). Despite some of the stilted dialogue, the friendship problems and solutions are authentic, and the theme about standing up to bullies is not overdone. VERDICT Give to elementary-age readers looking for gentle realism.-Rachel Reinwald, Lake Villa District Library, IL

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July 1, 2017
Grades 4-6 Allie's favorite part of school happens before it starts and after it ends: sharing secret snacks, games, and projects with three other kids of faculty members. Otherwise, well . . . it's not easy being the principal's daughter. Confide in your mother one single time and, evidently, you're forever known as a snitch. Now that she's in fifth grade, Allie longs to make up with Chloe, her former best friend who's no longer speaking to her, but mending a broken relationship is not so easy. Meanwhile, her other best friend, Graham, repeatedly targeted by a bully, can't help wishing that someone would let the principal know what's happening. Written by a former principal's daughter, this very readable chapter book records some of the perks and problems that go with the role. Sincere, unpretentious, and sometimes witty, Allie's first-person narrative will have broad appeal for the many kids who feel like outsiders at school, as well as those who are navigating the sometimes choppy waters of friendship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)