"I can't deny how emotionally attached I was to the characters in so little time. I will definitely be keeping this book to have in my classroom and I hope to read the rest of Mia's adventures in the near future!" — Miss Remmers
From Amazon.com...
"After one summer at the Little Tykes Theatre, Mia Fullerton is meek no more, but that doesn't make her life any easier. Not in her sophomore year at St. Hilary's, when her best friend Lisa forces her into a dangerously big part in The Music Man. Not when her ex-boyfriend, Tim, is teaching her little brother Chris to treat women like objects. And not when she learns to drive with serious repercussions.
Who is Mia? Is she an independent girl like Zoe, her acerbic goth friend from Little Tykes? She'd like to be — that's why she's volunteering to be onstage for the first time, in a show populated by her first ex and childhood crush Jake, her arch-nemesis Cassie, and new girl in town Alyssa. That's why it's so important she overcome the bizarre driving instruction of St. Hilary's janitor Mr. Corrigan to earn her driver's license, and therefore her freedom. Or is she the girl who misses Tim, even after the way he betrayed her? Tim is smart, funny, and likeable in a distinctly obnoxious way, and he's determined to win Mia back even if he has a funny way of doing so, dating both Cassie and Alyssa at the same time, behind both their backs. Can Mia forgive Tim? Should she instead choose Eric, Zoe' s cousin, a nicer and more respectful choice in every way? Or would either choice defeat her goals of independence? And when the worst-case scenarios rear their heads when Mia is forced into the lead in The Music Man, when her first night out on the road goes horribly, when Chris appears headed entirely to the dark side does Mia on her own have what it takes to set things right?"
Mia sure has it rough. A school play, an over zealous best friend, busy parents, annoying little brother, and a whole "hot mess" of relationships with boys. I throughly enjoyed reading this novel and finished it in one in one sitting. It's a quick read that would be great for upper middle school students or underclassmen. But don't let this fool you, the characters are great and the plot keeps readers guessing.
I couldn't help but want to be Mia's friend and to witness her life unfold. Just when I thought I had the story down, a twist would appear at just the most opportune moment. I learned to love Lisa's quirkiness and the love/hate relationship between Mia and her brother Chris. The dialogue between Chris and Mia was great — it reminded my of the Gilmore Girls dialogue.
A few things did bother me though: I did not like Jake, all the "dudes" and similar jargon I thought was unneccessary and overdone. He was the stereotypical class idiot — it seemed over played. Along the same lines, Mia's friend Zoe also bugged me (a little — but not as much) in regards to being overly stereotyped. I will also add (I may be a prude) that when I was sixteen I definitely wasn't getting as much kissing in as Mia and her friends.
But other than those small things — I adored this book. The ending was great — so much emotion! While I didn't like how it ended particularly, I can't deny how emotionally attached I was to the characters in so little time. I will definitely be keeping this book to have in my classroom and I hope to read the rest of Mia's adventures in the near future!
Favorite Quotes:
"What do you call a man on a beach? — A tan-gent!" (7).
"I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce" (47).
"If you ever fell down a well, Lassie would leave you there" (47).
"You're about as optimistic as a weatherman calling for sunshine while holding an umbrella" (50).
To the FTC, with love: Review Book sent by publisher