Thank You, Lucky Stars
Grade 4–6—Ally's plans for fifth grade are falling apart. On the first day of school her best friend, Betsy, deserts her for popular, fabulous Mona. Now Ally won't be able to perform "Bridge over Troubled Water" with her in the talent show. Then along comes Tina, the new girl. Most kids think she's completely bizarre, as her clothes and hair are weird and she doesn't seem to care about the opinions of others. To her surprise, Ally gets along with Tina and finds a comfortable place with the socially awkward, nonjudgmental, smart kids at school. Predictably, in the end, she must choose between the cool kids and her newfound friends. This is an enjoyable read, and many girls will see themselves in the protagonist. However, many recent books feature quirky female characters, and this one struggles to stay with the pack. Ally makes references to Princess Leia, disco, and Simon and Garfunkel, which could make it challenging for readers to ascertain the story's time frame. Although her antics are entertaining, Tina's aloofness may distance readers from her struggles with her bipolar mother. The story is sweet, but the eccentric girls in Linda Urban'sA Crooked Kind of Perfect(Harcourt) and Lauren Tarshis'sEmma-Jean Lazarus Fell out of a Tree(Dial, both 2007) are better developed characters.—Laura Lutz, Queens Borough Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.