Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
Ever since they were in second grade, Jessie Lou has been in love with Conrad Parker Smith. Conrad had a glow about him that called to people, that drew everyone towards him and made them want to be his friend. As far as Jessie Lou thinks of it, Conrad is just deep down popular, right to his bones. With her beanpole body, scruffy boy's clothes, and shorn hair that she just chopped off with scissors one day because she felt like it, Jessie Lou knows that she would never be in the same league as Conrad.
A new brace on Conrad's leg changes all of that.
Now that he's had to quit the soccer team and can no longer keep up with the popular kids, Jessie Lou finds herself in the unfortunate position of having to help Conrad home from school. She, Conrad, and awkward tagalong Quentin Duster become the Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea of West Taluka Falls, striking a solid friendship that makes Jessie Lou the happiest girl in the world.
Can that friendship survive an experimental operation that could fix Conrad's life for good?
Although I was initially put off by the grammatical idiosyncrasies and dialect present throughout the book, I grew to find them endearing to Jessie Lou's character. She has an inspiring, quiet presence that makes the story, and any reader who has never liked the feel of dresses, connect with her.
Ever since they were in second grade, Jessie Lou has been in love with Conrad Parker Smith. Conrad had a glow about him that called to people, that drew everyone towards him and made them want to be his friend. As far as Jessie Lou thinks of it, Conrad is just deep down popular, right to his bones. With her beanpole body, scruffy boy's clothes, and shorn hair that she just chopped off with scissors one day because she felt like it, Jessie Lou knows that she would never be in the same league as Conrad.
A new brace on Conrad's leg changes all of that.
Now that he's had to quit the soccer team and can no longer keep up with the popular kids, Jessie Lou finds herself in the unfortunate position of having to help Conrad home from school. She, Conrad, and awkward tagalong Quentin Duster become the Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea of West Taluka Falls, striking a solid friendship that makes Jessie Lou the happiest girl in the world.
Can that friendship survive an experimental operation that could fix Conrad's life for good?
Although I was initially put off by the grammatical idiosyncrasies and dialect present throughout the book, I grew to find them endearing to Jessie Lou's character. She has an inspiring, quiet presence that makes the story, and any reader who has never liked the feel of dresses, connect with her.
