Miss Smithers

Juby, Susan

ISBN 10: 0060515473 ISBN 13: 9780060515478

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2004

Synopsis

In spite of the premature publication of my 'zine and resulting renewed social ostracism, things are happening for me! I've been stood up by the coolest girl in school, I have a Jesus bracelet, I ate dinner at a steak restaurant and lived to tell, I may be a virgin until I marry, I'm a Miss Smithers candidate, and I HAVE LEATHER PANTS! I even feel ready for the first official event of the pageant, the Etiquette Workshop.

No longer homeschooled and socially isolated, Alice McLeod has: 1. a female friend, George; 2. a male friend, Goose; 3. a $400 clothing allowance to dress herself for the Miss Smithers pageant.

Following on the debut of Alice, I Think, Susan Juby's delightful second novel is about finding the perfect outfit and finding oneself, about winning a pageant and winning at love.

About this title

About the Author

SUSAN JUBY is the author of the critically acclaimed Getting the Girl and Another Kind of Cowboy, as well as the bestselling Alice series (Alice, I Think; Miss Smithers; Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last) and her latest novel for adults, The Woefield Poultry Collective. After dropping out of fashion college and attaining a BA from the University of British Columbia, Susan went to work in the book industry. She holds a master’s degree in publishing. She currently lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, James, and their dog, who prefers to remain anonymous. Visit her online at susanjuby.com.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Alice MacLeod, 16, had been homeschooled since being pulled out of first grade for thinking she was a hobbit. Now she attends alternative school, and describes herself as "a total misfit," so she is understandably surprised when the Smithers Rod and Gun Club asks her to be their representative for the local beauty pageant. She keeps a diary of all of her school and pageant misadventures, including cantankerous descriptions of her hippie parents, friends, and fellow contestants. Alice's meanderings through a religious group, alcohol experimentation, and fruitless hopes for a first sexual encounter seem contrived for their shock value. Although she is certainly intelligent and insightful (with a very sharp cutting edge), she never seems to understand that she's her own worst enemy until the end. By that point, it's too little too late, and readers will have trouble caring if she gets it or not. She seems to veer from one ridiculous or dangerous situation to the next, and blames much of it on everybody else (sometimes correctly, but often not). Despite its wit and spearing of inane beauty contests, teens will have trouble finding this book's heart, or Alice's.–Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert City Schools, OH
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Edition details

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0060515473
• ISBN 13: 9780060515478
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 324