Harper Trophy winner. By turns sarcastic, tender, and irreverent, this is a real piece of contemporary teen life from one funny writer.
Sharon Creech-Winner of the Newbery Medal for Walk Two Moons.
Mary Lou Finney is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Then, her cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family. At first, Mary Lou is disappointed with Carl Ray. She thinks he is lazy and not very interesting. While Carl Ray gets settled, Mary Lou records the events of her everyday life in her journal. Her friend Beth Ann has been invited to join a secret club, a cute boy named Alex invites her to go swimming, and a neighbor with a mysterious relationship to Carl Ray passes away unexpectedly. As the mystery unfolds, Mary Lou finds there is more to Carl Ray - and to herself - than she ever knew.
Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou Finney has an assignment to keep a journal over the summer. She thinks it's boring, but finds herself filling up more than one book as things start to happen. First, her 17-year-old cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with their family. Then her best friend gets a boyfriend, making her feel left out, and suddenly a boy shows interest in her. Creech is good at putting you right in the mind of a 13-year-old girl, and Mary Lou's summer experiences and the lessons she learns from them make an interesting and fun read. It's a book I will definitely keep for my kids.
This is a good book which is loosely connected to Walk Two Moons by Creech. It is a journal that was required writing during the summer and it chronicals the life of a young teenage girl. It is a cute book but not as good as Walk Two Moons.
Mary Lou Finney grudgingly begins writing a journal as an assignment for school--would anything interesting ever happen to her? What follows is the story of a wildly chaotic and romantic summer. How could she have known about Carl Ray and the little black car? Or what would happen on Booger Hill? Or about the permanently pink Alex Cheevy? Mary Lou's tale is filled with hilarious observations on love, death, and the confusing mechanics of holding hands.
Mary Lou Finney is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller coaster ride of all time. 230 pages. My 10 year old really enjoyed this book.
