Readin'My Life in Pink and Green
Lisa Greenwald
Amulet Books
pgs. 272
Rdg Time: Unknown - little bits and pieces of a week
Writin'
12-year-old Lucy just found out that her family is having money problems. Not small problems but losing your business and having no place to live type of problems. Her grandmother wants them to sell the house and maybe close the family pharmacy. In Earth Club, Lucy stumbles across a going green grant for their town that just might be the ticket the family needs. She also starts doing make-up in their newly set-aside Relaxation Room. With the help of Yamir, her best friend's annoying, or maybe not, brother, she designs brochures that are sure to bring in more business. Can she save the family?
Rithmetic'
I'm not sure how I want to categorize this story. Part of the story was implausible - Lucy finding a grant that happened to be from her town's mayor and Lucy doing the hair and makeup for high school students. I kept wondering if my 13 year old would be capable of these things. I didn't really get a feel for Lucy's mother - was she incompetent or just forgettful? There seemed to be too many gaps in the story to understand her as a character.
That said - I still enjoyed this book. I thought the beauty and business tips at the beginning of each chapter were a great touch as well as useful information that a middle-schooler could put into place. I liked the way Greenwald described Sunni's and Lucy's crushes - just enough so that girls could empathize and look forward to their first crushes. The Earth Club is one all schools should have. I also found it easy to understand Lucy's character.
All in all, I would give this book 2 copies. It's something I would have in my library and booktalk. It just wouldn't be my first choice for book clubs.
