The girl who chronicled her academic experiences in a composition-style notebook brimming with funny, insightful observations and full-color pictures celebrates her 20th anniversary.
This newest edition serves as Amelia's reflections on her middle-school experiences as she anxiously imagines sharing a high school with her older sister, Cleo. Amelia's best friend Carly advises, "If you spend all your time worrying about the future, you'll miss out on the now." Yet Amelia's anxieties inspire some of the book's funniest moments, such as her pro and con list: "High School: What's Scary / What's exciting--dare I say, maybe even fun? [Answer:] Boyfriends? / Boy friends!" Then Carly drops the bomb: she's changing schools and won't be with Amelia for ninth grade.
Amelia fans will enjoy the trip down memory lane, as the narrator reflects on her shared experiences with Carly. Then she gets nostalgic about all of the "lasts" they will share (e.g., the last oral report in French class, wearing berets and lifting baguettes). Carly observes that it was Amelia's move that turned her into a writer and artist. This leads to an idea on Amelia's part: Why not make a book of "stuff I learned in middle school?" Amelia draws "the Gossip Ripple Effect" like a pink amoeba with the nucleus a rumor, and the outcasts outside the amoeba entirely.
In keeping with Amelia's character, Marissa Moss's latest is both humorous and poignant. And fans will be delighted that there seems to be a teaser to another episode. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness