Odd Girl In

February 15, 2011

Spunky 12-year-old Alex doesn't really want friends or a social life in this quirky middle-school comedy. She hates girly giggling parties and doesn't see any other girls in her middle school that she'd want to have as a friend, so she just concentrates on following in the footsteps of her prankster older twin brothers. After one prank too many, however, her father enrolls Alex and her brothers in a program meant to mold successful children called "Champs!" A dreaded private school looms as punishment if all three children don't pass the course. Alex finds her first challenge in Emily, an especially annoying classmate who boasts that her stepmother is the program's egomaniacal coach and that she will be assisting in the lessons. Alex also must cope with Chloe, a hyper-competitive girl determined to win the final prize, but only after Alex becomes the go-between when both Chloe and Emily develop crushes on another Champs! student, super-nice, cute Trevor. Subplots thicken when Alex learns that Emily actually might become a good friend, and the Champs! program indeed does bring out her leadership qualities. Alex's absent mother provides an element of drama in this otherwise witty, laugh-out-loud romp. Whittemore handles not only the comedy but deftly portrays Alex's and her brothers' advancement into a more mature state of mind. It should keep middle-schoolers laughing from start to finish. Funny and perky. (Fiction. 8-12)

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March 1, 2011

Gr 5-7-Alex (don't call her Alexis) prides herself on being a wild child and one of three "Evil Evins." Ever since her researcher mother left the family, the 12-year-old and her older twin brothers have run amok with their pranks and high jinks. Their father, a professor of philosophy who believes in free will, has done little to rein them in. When a "Flaming #2" prank goes awry, setting an elderly neighbor's sofa on fire with nearly disastrous results, Professor Evins has had enough. He enrolls his children in a "life-skills course" called Champs! If they do not all pass the course, a private school looms. Champs! is run by a loud self-promoter who has strict rules and high expectations. Unfortunately, Alex's nemeses, Goody Two-shoes Emily Gold and ultra-competitive athlete Chloe, are also at Champs! Alex prides herself on being tough. She's a loner, and doesn't do the friendship-with-girls thing. The reasons why unfold slowly as readers follow her through her Champs! experience. Secondary characters have surprising depth. There's plenty of humor along the way to redemption and healing as Alex and her brothers learn to work as a team and as a family.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

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