#BookADay: HOW TO OUTFOX YOUR FRIENDS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE by Jess Keating ( Sourcebooks Jabberwocky). I'm a fan of Jess's "My Life Is A Zoo" series for middle grade, and this third book in series totally lived up to the first two - I *lovelovelove* the main character's fresh, funny voice: clever without being mean-sarcastic, smart and quirky and original.
There were SO many moments throughout this book where I thought, "dear lord, I so remember feeling EXACTLY LIKE THAT when I was that age."
Plus: because the main character begins volunteering in a Wildlife Rescue Center (the author's first job was at a wildlife rehabilitation center and she has a master's degree in animal science), the reader gets to find out all kinds of fascinating animal facts. In my case, I was especially interested in the scene where Ana learns how to take care of a baby skunk since Jeff and I currently have backyard baby skunk issues.
Plus: as the starred review in Kirkus points out, this story is "a sweet reminder that being a middle school girl is about far more than boys and makeup."
Jess, by the way, was one of the very first authors to attend Nerd Camp; I found out about the latter from her reports. She is also an amazing presenter; I watched her in action at Telling Tales last year. She has also started a series of videos called "Write With Jess Keating" for young writers.
Visit Jess Keating's site to find out more about her books.
"Jess's MY LIFE IS A ZOO series follows the hilarious and heartfelt adventures of a 12-year-old girl who lives in a zoo with her zoologist parents, twin brother, and a host of scaly and feathered creatures. Contains loads of laughs, embarrassing moments, and animal poop."
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.