Fifth Grade Here Comes Trouble Author:Colleen O'Shaughnessy McKenna In this humorous follow-up to Fourth Grade Is a Jinx and Too Many Murphys, Collette is horrified that her friend Marsha is going to invite boys to her 11th birthday party. Then Collette learns that the other girls like the idea. Even the boys don't mind. Isn't there anyone who feels the same way as Collette? — From School Library Journal — Grade 4... more »-6-- Collette Murphy, star of Fourth Grade Is a Jinx (Scholastic, 1989) is now in fifth grade and facing her first boy-girl party. Her wealthy friend Marsha's family traditionally has a special celebration for eleventh birthdays, and Marsha is planning a skating party with boys. Collette is sure that the party will be a total disaster, especially with snobbish cousin Carole advising Marsha on how to present a real teenage appearance. Adult characters are weak, especially Marsha's flighty mother, but there is a good feeling for the ambiguity of middle-grade social relationships. Collette's self-doubts and Marsha's somewhat frantic excesses provide a humorous contrast that will strike a realistic chord among young readers.
--Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL« less