So Totally Emily Ebers

April 1, 2007
Gr 5-7-It's Emily Ebers's turn to tell about the summer she meets Millicent Min and Stanford Wong, each of whom has charmed readers in earlier books. Emily, who is effervescent and enthusiastic, has her own story to tell. She's just moved to Rancho Rosetta, CA, from New Jersey after her parents' divorce. She directs a lot of anger and unhappiness against her mom, who is also reeling from the change. She writes down her thoughts and feelings in a journal for her dad, who is on the road with a revival tour of his old rock band and has sent the 12-year-old a credit card for her birthday. Emily befriends Millicent at a girls' summer volleyball league where they're the worst players. The rapport between the girls is delightful, as Millie shares her idiosyncratic take on her hometown. Emily meets Stanford and assumes that he is tutoring Millie. When she finds out that her new friends have misled her about the situation, her disappointment is palpable. As in "Millicent Min, Girl Genius" (2003) and "Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time" (2005, both Scholastic), family is vitally important. In the end, Emily patches things up with her mom and realizes that some changes can be good, even though they may not work out as expected. It's a good message for preteens, as is Emily's insistence on treating others with kindness. Although this book stands on its own, kids will get more pleasure if they read the other two first. With a baby sister on the way for Millicent Min, dare we hope for another sequel?"Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2007
There aren't many authors who can bring energy to the same basic story three times running, but Yee manages to do it in this companion to " Millicent Min, Girl Genius "(2003)" "and " Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time "(2005). Now, the ruse unfolds from the viewpoint of Millicent's new friend (and Stanford's crush) Emily, a blithe spirit prone to blind spots--whether in her dealings with Millie (whose weirdly tidy bedroom prompts praise for having "totally nailed that stark look") or in her relationship with her father, whom she adores despite his inattentiveness following her parents' divorce. The format proves less successful than Emily's faithfully evoked voice; the daily entries (a continuing letter to her incommunicado dad) record details and dialogue too precisely to ring true. But fans of the first two books will enjoy seeing how this telling expands its predecessors' take on the same events, and most readers will find something to appreciate in Emily's particular story, which tempers painful truths about divorce's repercussions with middle-grade romance and humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)