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Overview
Winnie knows that change isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when it means her best friend, Amanda, might be dropping her for someone else. Throw in a grumpy teenage sister, a cat who gets trapped in the wall, and a crush who has pinkeye, and you’ve got one big mess—one that Winnie’s not going to clean up! Winnie’s decided that she’s going to remain exactly the same, no matter what the rest of the world does. But every month brings crazy adventures. A lot can change in a year . . .maybe even Winnie.
The year between turning eleven and turning twelve bring many changes for Winnie and her friends.
Synopsis
Starting with her birthday in March, every chapter brings a new month and a new event in Winnie's life. From surviving her teenage sister's grumpy mood swings in April to dealing with prissy new rival Gail Grayson in September, there's a calendar full of the ups and downs of being eleven years old. Especially hard for Winnie is the growing distance between herself and her best friend, Amanda, as both girls grow into different social circles. The big and little moments of Winnie's year are captured with honesty and warmth, and her sharp observations and infectious enthusiasm make for hilarious storytelling. Eleven-year-olds of all ages will discover themselves in this winning young heroine on the brink of adolescence.
Publishers Weekly
"Offering a month-by-month account of Winnie's 11th year, this lighthearted and well-observed novel is sure to strike a familiar chord with girls on the brink of adolescence," wrote PW. Ages 8-up. (July) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
"Offering a month-by-month account of Winnie's 11th year, this lighthearted and well-observed novel is sure to strike a familiar chord with girls on the brink of adolescence," wrote PW. Ages 8-up. (July) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Eleven is not an easy year for Winnie; maybe it's not an easy year for any of us. Poised on the brink of adolescence, Winnie, month by month, experiences the subtly shifting dynamics of old friendships giving way to new ones, as girls grow up at different rates, and in different directions. The jacket flap promises "hilarious adventures" and "crazy ups and downs," but while there is a good deal of humor in each carefully recorded incident in Winnie's year, the tone is nuanced rather than madcap, quietly accurate and insightful rather than exaggerated and zany. Myracle closes in the moment when Winnie realizes that her best friend, Amanda, is embarrassed to be seen playing a favorite game of make-believe with her in the drugstore aisle; when Winnie deepens her crush on her sister's boyfriend, Bo, while he scoops ice cream for her at Baskin-Robbins; when she feels ashamed of her saggy one-piece bathing suit on a weekend trip to the beach; and when she forces herself to invite an unpopular, yearning girl to a family Halloween party. Every detail of a lunchtime Chinese jump rope rivalry is honored with minute, microscopic attention. Occasionally the reader may want a bit more structure and closure than Myracle provides in her kaleidoscope of Winnie's year; when the last page comes, it doesn't feel like the last page—the reader may expect and (and need) something more. But Myracle definitely does justice to the small, painful, poignant moments of adolescence. 2004, Dutton, Ages 8 to 12.—Claudia Mills