Review: A Girl's Gotta Do What A Girl's Gotta Do
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 30, 2013
This title stands out from all the other books I know, not only because of its sheer length--but because of its endearingly sly, clever humor. How can Falisha 'think' that she flushed her brother down the toilet? If she did it, shouldn't she know what she's done? Shouldn't she admit it, instead of trying--in vain--to fool her mom, who is bound to realize the truth in her incisive, down-to-earth manner of investigation?I can hear the author's voice, punctuated with the rhythm of his breath as various emotions flow through the tale: "Falisha Whiskers, you tell me where your little brother is. Right. This. Minute." I can see the gestures of the characters, done in striking, exaggerated caricature-like manner: "Mom's mouth opened so wide, I could see her tonsils shaking and quaking back and forth like worms." The illustrations, done by Danko Hererra, do great justice to Jeff Rivera's words.Armed with the plunger--and above all, with her incredible spunk--Falisha takes a deep breath. "Fine," she says to herself. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta to." And if you think this means going to the toilet, you happened to be right on! So watch her embarking on her mission, to bring her brother back in five minutes, or else. You will get tremendous joy by reading this story aloud, because of the musical cues in the text. "The hills were made of slushy, gushy mush. The streets were made of smelly jelly fellies. The trees were swaying and fraying and graying."  'We all know these quirky attempts to avoid confessing the truth from our own experience, as well as from watching our children. This is a brilliant depiction of what we recognize in ourselves. You are Falisha, and you will love joining her on her rescue mission.Five Stars.