Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life (mix) - Softcover

Dee, Barbara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416947396 ISBN 13: 9781416947394

Publisher: Aladdin, 2007

Synopsis

Twelve-year-old Cassie has a lot to cope with when her father moves "out of the picture." Her mom's constantly working overtime, her teenage sister's going AWOL, and her little brother seriously needs attention. It's up to Cassie to prevent total chaos at home -- or so she thinks.

She can't control everything, though. At school Cassie's two "best" friends are turning nasty, and a cute boy is sending mixed signals. And then there's Mr. Mullaney -- the weirdest, hardest English teacher in the seventh grade -- who hates everything she does. Since Mr. Mullaney isn't even reading her brilliant work, Cassie starts submitting journal entries like "A Virtual Tour of My Insanely Messy Desk." But her sassy humor isn't winning her any friends or helping her ailing grades. What's a girl to do when life gets totally insane?

Barbara Dee has created a witty, poignant portrait of an intense, honest, feisty girl who is ferociously funny and only too human.

About this title

About the Author:

Barbara Dee is the author of several middle grade novels including Maybe He Just Likes You, Everything I Know About You, Halfway Normal, and Star-Crossed. Her books have received several starred reviews and been included on many best-of lists, including the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten, the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best, and the NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People. Star-Crossed was also a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist. Barbara is one of the founders of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. She lives with her family, including a naughty cat named Luna and a sweet rescue hound dog named Ripley, in Westchester County, New York.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-7–Lady Catrain must defend Queen Alynna from the evil Lord Valdyk. This does not sound insanely real, does it? In fact, it is the journal writing of feisty 12-year-old Cassie, who finds solace in writing fantasy that parallels her personal experiences. Her single mom works long hours to support the family; Miranda, 15, is often irresponsible and sometimes angry. Cassie takes a lot of responsibility at home, particularly regarding six-year-old Jackson, who is in need of attention. The bane of Cassie's life is her sarcastic English teacher. She mistakenly comes to believe that her teacher only counts the number of pages in their journals, ignoring the contents, and begins writing a series of very funny and definitely hostile journal entries musing on such deep topics as rubber bands and converting fractions into percents. After her best friends drop her due to the lessening of her family's social status, Cassie reluctantly befriends overweight outcast Bess, who shares her love of fantasy fiction. The characters and their interactions are effectively delineated. Cassie realistically struggles with insecurity, rudeness, and impossible expectations from those around her. Everyone in the family has an epiphany of some sort that leads to a satisfyingly believable ending. Cassie is a spunky preteen, and girls will easily relate to her awkward chats with the boy she likes, sibling spats, and occasional moments of clarity.–B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY
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About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1416947396
• ISBN 13: 9781416947394
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256