Can You Say Catastrophe?

From the Series The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair

  • Interest Level: Grade 5 - Grade 9
  • Reading Level: Grade 5

April Sinclair just wants what any normal thirteen-year-old would want: to disown her parents and obnoxious little sisters; to escape to summer camp ASAP with her two best friends, Billy and Brynn; and to make a good impression on Matt Parker, the hot new boy next door.

Unfortunately, Matt witnesses April’s utter humiliation at her birthday party. Then Billy kisses her. Just as April is trying to figure things out, her parents cancel her camp plans in lieu of a family RV trip. A summer of babysitting her sisters and “re-bonding” with her family isn’t how she imagined life as a teenager. And it certainly won’t help her straighten out her feelings about Billy or Matt. Is there any silver lining to a road trip in The Clunker with her family of misfits?

Format Your Price Add
978-1-4677-7071-2
$22.99
Interest Level Grade 5 - Grade 9
Reading Level Grade 5
Copyright 2013
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Darby Creek ™
Language English
Number of Pages 160
Publication Date 2014-08-01
Reading Counts! Level 5.5
Text Type Fiction
BISACS JUV044000, JUV039020, JUV039050
Dewey [Fic]
Dimensions 5.25 x 7.5
Lexile 840
Guided Reading Level Z+
ATOS Reading Level 5.0
Accelerated Reader® Quiz 160126
Accelerated Reader® Points 4.0
Features Author/Illustrator biography and Reviewed

Author: Laurie Friedman

Laurie Friedman is the author of the popular Mallory series, The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair series, and many award-winning picture books. She lives in Florida.

Reviews

VOYA

“Using an authentic voice, Friedman conveys the uncertainty and frustration experienced by many preteen/teen girls seeking to find their place in the world….Teachers and librarians searching for novels that connect with female readers—especially reluctant readers—will want to add this novel to their collection.” —VOYA

School Library Journal

“The author succeeds in creating a believable portrayal of an overly dramatic young teen with the expected afflictions and embarrassments that accompany this difficult age, such as first boyfriends and younger sisters.” —School Library Journal

Publishers Weekly

“Friedman (the Mallory series) makes April believably melodramatic, self-absorbed, and insecure, yet keeps her fully sympathetic as she faces the confusion of growing up, changing relationships, and figuring out what truly matters.” —Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

“In this first title of her new series, Friedman delves into a plethora of teen concerns as April copes with body-image worries, friendships, family relationships and first kisses. She consummately conveys April’s self-absorption, adeptly capturing the turmoil of the shifting stages between childhood and adolescence.” —Kirkus Reviews