Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge.

Audience: 7th grade and up

My Rating: 4.5* of 5

Summary: Paige Turner has just moved to New York with her family, and she's having some trouble adjusting to the big city. In the pages of her sketchbook, she tries to make sense of her new life, including trying out her secret identity: artist. As she makes friends and starts to explore the city, she slowly brings her secret identity out into the open, a process that is equal parts terrifying and rewarding. Laura Lee Gulledge crafts stories and panels with images that are thought-provoking, funny, and emotionally resonant. Teens struggling to find their place can see themselves in Paige's honest, heartfelt story.
Comments: Picked this up on a whim and was wowed by the Agents of Whimsy! A quintessential representation of the teen, self-absorbed, but working through the process (in this case artistic) of self-awareness and expression. Artwork is outstanding--conveying as much if not more than text--ranging from funny to profound. My only complaint was that the slight conflict between Paige and her friend Jules never really seemed resolved.

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day by Meg Cabot. 2008.
Audience: 8-12, Grades 3-5
My Rating: 4.5*s out of 5
Summary: When nine-year-old Allie Finkle's parents announce that they are moving her and her brothers from their suburban split-level into an ancient Victorian in town, Allie's sure her life is over. She's not at all happy about having to give up her pretty pink wall-to-wall carpeting for creaky floorboards and creepy secret passageways-not to mention leaving her modern, state-of-the-art suburban school for a rundown, old-fashioned school just two blocks from her new house.
Comments: How does Meg Cabot do it? I have enjoyed everything I've read by her, regardless of the subject or audience. Her writing is current and vernacular, but doesn't seem dumbed-down. Allie was honest, independent, and endearlingly flawed. At first I thought the "rules" concept would get in the way, but instead it nicely threaded the story together. My favorite rule (very hard to choose just one)..."When you finally figure out what the right thing to do is, you have to do it, even if you don't want to."
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