January 6th 2015 by Aladdin (In hardcover!!!)
E ARC from Netgalley.com
When she is working on selling roses for the seventh grade class so that the the whole grade can win a lock in, Mia feels bad that the same popular, pretty girls get roses all the time. When she and her best friend Ashleigh sell the chocolate roses, Mia buys 25 with her own money and sends them anonymously to people she thinks deserves them, along with a complementary message. This sets off a wave of drama in the school: popular girl Kaylee is angry that other people get roses, the disheveled Sun and the athletic Trudie want makeovers because they think they have secret admirers, and Ashleigh and Mia have some friendship difficulties over all of the attention that Mia is giving to everyone else... except for Alex, the boy who likes her. On the night of the lock in, Mia thinks that things will go smoothly, but her secret is exposed and the seventh graders all react differently to learning that they don't really have secret admirers.
Strengths: I remember trying to keep a list of all of the romances that went on around me in the 7th grade, and in reality, things ARE this convoluted! One of the things that my girls ask for is books with "drama" in them, and this certainly has it. I liked that Mia has good intentions in handing out extra roses, and she deals with mean girl Kaylee without resorting to meanness herself. Mia's romance with Alex is also well done, because the two are friends first.
Weaknesses: I found it hard to believe that Mia would get punished for sending out 25 anonymous roses. Yes, it helped her group win the lock in, but there seemed to be no rule against it. As an adult, I feel uncomfortable with the girls wanting makeovers, but the 12-year-old me was an enormous fan of Ellen Conford's Seven Days to a Brand New Me, so I can't really complain!
Thank you so much for the great review! I'm honored to be featured on your blog.
ReplyDeleteHmm. I don't remember being in the middle of any romance books back in 7th grade. Mysteries and sports books kept me away form the drama. I guess Bridge to Terabithia would be the closest I could come to something with a romantic slant.
ReplyDeleteHmm, interesting stretch for a story... drama, drama, drama...
ReplyDeleteI didn't read many romance books when I was younger. I liked survival and animal stories. But I do remember reading What's New in Sixth Grade? by Mindy Schanback. Since it was the only one that might qualify as MG romance, I'm saying it was my favorite. ;)
ReplyDeleteI would have thought this was Source Books or something. It's hard to imagine there would be a romance subcategory for middle grade but kids seem to be growing up so fats nowadays. I enjoyed Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe's romance.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this title elsewhere, and I can see how it would appeal to this age group. The premise sounds intriguing, and I like that she handles the mean girl. Thanks for the rec!
ReplyDeleteTo the comment above, it does have an element of romance, but no kissy-smoochies! More at the crush level. I had my first crush in sixth grade...and I'm told that's later than kids nowadays have theirs. Seems odd to me...in elementary school, you're supposed to think boys have cooties! I think boys get interested in girls later, often. In junior high/middle school, I LOVED those First Love from Silhouette books and all of the other teen romance stories that were huge in the 80s. But at that time, we didn't have middle-grade books. The teen books were written for younger readers and teens read Stephen King and Harlequin romances.
ReplyDeleteYou and I must be nearly the same age, because I adored Fifteen by Beverly Cleary when I was in junior high. But I think Jean and Johnny was my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of 25 Roses before so thanks for the heads-up.
Favorite middle school romance book? This made me chuckle. When I was in middle school, I plowed through every Lurlene McDaniels and V.C. Andrews book that existed.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. I plowed through all the Lucy Maud Montgomery books and, if I remember correctly (and at my age that is a big IF), the later books were pretty romantic. I have heard of 25 Roses, but haven't read it yet. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteMiddle school is all about drama - and this looks like a book that captures aspects of that drama well. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy students love Sarah Dessen books, as do I. They are perfect romance books :)
ReplyDeleteHappy reading this week! :)
Yay! Someone's heard of it before today! That does make me feel good.
ReplyDeleteI will have to put this book on my list for our library. You are right that the grade seven girls often want books with romance. It isn't easy to come up with satisfying reads for them that are appropriate. Have you read Phoebe Stone's books? I love her and so do those girls.
ReplyDeleteTom Sawyer
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I am so glad I went to this link! I had really hesitated to get Stephanie's new book as my granddaughter is only 10 but you just gave me a great idea! I am going to order it for her school's library. They are a K-8 and always need new books -- especially for the upper graders as they were only K-5 until a few years ago. And besides I love our school librarian! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI remember doing something similar when I was in 6th grade - sent my bestfriend an anonymous letter that is packaged as if it is written by her 'crush' - so yeah, I know convoluted. I guess I specialize in convoluted. Sounds like a book that I will enjoy reading. :)
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