Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
It's time for Step Out, Allington Academy's annual community service project where every seventh and eleventh grader spends two weeks working for a non-profit organization.
Amy Flowers and her friends are all looking forward to it - with Mitchie, Kiwi, and Jenelle working at the Tranquility Garden, and Amy signed up for the Health On The Move Experience, which travels to different elementary schools to teach about health.
At least, Amy was looking forward to it, until she found out she was in it with annoying Preston and the Queen of Mean, Fiona.
Their supervisor, eleventh grader Anthony, is completely bossy, and Fiona starts off by refusing to do any work. Oddly enough, working with Preston turns out to be one of the best parts of the job, especially when he works with Amy to make "The Healthmobile" lessons a little more interesting. While Amy's friends start bonding over their projects, her own group is floundering, with Fiona fighting them every step of the way. When, after an argument, a surprising experience brings Amy and Fiona together, Amy has to wonder whether Fiona's sudden change of heart is for real...or just another one of her nasty schemes.
I haven't read the first two books in this series, but I had no problem falling right into this story and enjoying the characters. They're quirky and real without being stereotypical, and you can easily sense the history between them.
It's time for Step Out, Allington Academy's annual community service project where every seventh and eleventh grader spends two weeks working for a non-profit organization.
Amy Flowers and her friends are all looking forward to it - with Mitchie, Kiwi, and Jenelle working at the Tranquility Garden, and Amy signed up for the Health On The Move Experience, which travels to different elementary schools to teach about health.
At least, Amy was looking forward to it, until she found out she was in it with annoying Preston and the Queen of Mean, Fiona.
Their supervisor, eleventh grader Anthony, is completely bossy, and Fiona starts off by refusing to do any work. Oddly enough, working with Preston turns out to be one of the best parts of the job, especially when he works with Amy to make "The Healthmobile" lessons a little more interesting. While Amy's friends start bonding over their projects, her own group is floundering, with Fiona fighting them every step of the way. When, after an argument, a surprising experience brings Amy and Fiona together, Amy has to wonder whether Fiona's sudden change of heart is for real...or just another one of her nasty schemes.
I haven't read the first two books in this series, but I had no problem falling right into this story and enjoying the characters. They're quirky and real without being stereotypical, and you can easily sense the history between them.
