Cassidy's Guide to Everyday Etiquette (and Obfuscation)

May 25, 2015
Eleven-year-old Cassidy Corcoran couldnât be more upset that her great-grandmotherâs dying wish was that she attend a five-week etiquette course, especially since her sister gets to go to forensic camp. Cassidyâs dream, rather, is to become a hobo, riding the rails (sheâs even renamed herself âCalamity Cassidyâ). During the etiquette course, Miss Melton-Mowryâs lessons in posture, table manners, and proper conversation alternately annoy and bore Cassidy. Whatâs worse, ever since a young beauty pageant contestant moved in next door, Cassidyâs best friend Jack seems more interested in being the girlâs handyman than being Cassidyâs partner in crime. But Cassidy makes some unlikely friends in etiquette class, including Officer Weston, an âuncivilized clodâ of a policeman, and enemy-turned-ally Delton Bean. While Stauffacherâs (the Animal Rescue Team series) plot drags in the middle, Cassidyâs flair for the dramatic (âI had no idea there was a word for the very thing Iâm genius at!â Cassidy thinks after learning the meaning of âobfuscateâ) makes for many amusing moments along the way. Ages 8â12. Agent: Wendy Schmalz, Wendy Schmalz Literary Agency.

April 1, 2015
To her horror, an 11-year-old tomboy prankster is forced to take an etiquette class and learn the rules of polite society. Girls who want to be "something wacko" like "a princess or a movie star" might find the rules of etiquette useful, but Cassidy, Stauffacher's irrepressible, obnoxious, but still strongly sympathetic heroine, has a more original goal: she longs to be a hobo. And she's not even the most eccentric character in Stauffacher's quirky new comedy with a message. Cassidy's 15-year-old sister, Magda, is fascinated with decomposition-a great present for her would be a dead rodent-and Cassidy's best friend, Jack, wants to be a stuntman. Although Stauffacher keeps the tone light and humorous in this first-person novel, personal growth is still undeniably painful. In particular, Cassidy, on the cusp of adolescence, has to deal with how the changes in her and Jack's bodies affect their feelings and behavior. Sadly, after the players and their conflicts are laid out, the book seems to get stuck; the etiquette lessons are not as interminable as they feel to Cassidy, but they don't have much momentum either. When it comes, the happy ending, though welcome, is a tad hard to buy psychologically. This intermittently funny book offers likable characters, but it lacks Stauffacher's customary expert touch. (Fiction. 8-12)

March 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Eleven-year-old Cassidy wants nothing more than to be a Knight of the Road, and she has a lazy summer of fishing and pulling pranks planned as preparation-until her great-grandmother's will stipulates she must take etiquette lessons. Not only is Cassidy sorely lacking in social graces, she's prone to calamity; the outlook for learning manners is not so good. On top of everything else, a new oddness between Cassidy and her best friend, Jack, isn't making the summer any easier. Stauffacher spins a yarn of the trials of growing up in both mind and body. While the ending may feel a bit pat given Cassidy's propensity for mayhem, her distinct personality makes up for any unevenness in plot. It is unfortunate, however, that Cassidy makes cringe-worthy references throughout her narration-including one truly problematic mention, ostensibly meant to be humorous, of her "little palsy" when she finds herself near doors with bells. These off-color asides pop up repeatedly in what would otherwise be a decent coming-of-age story for the middle grade set. VERDICT Libraries would be better served stocking titles with protagonists who manage to be mischievous without using disrespectful language.-Amy Koester, Skokie Public Library, IL

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.