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Clementine is back, and #5 in the series is as fresh as the first. What keeps this series strong is the main character's appealing and oh-so-believeable voice. Unquenchable as ever, the third-grader with the fruit name has a lot to deal with in Clementine and the Family Meeting, starting with the dreaded meeting. As she puts it: "Because even though my parents say they are about things we have to talk over as a family, I have noticed that they are usually about something I am doing wrong." 


Not this time. The family meeting brings unexpected news to Clementine and her little brother--they are going to have another sibling. Clementine is less than pleased, and, like many young children, would rather things stay the same. But change is everywhere. Her best friend Margaret has become obsessed with becoming a make-up artist and talks nonstop about moving to California to live with her father. At school, Eighteen, a rat from science class, has disappeared and Clementine worries for his safety. Eighteen was also her science project, and now that he's missing, her partner is trying to convince her to use one of his many superpowers as a substitute project. Rounding things off, her favorite hat, knitted for her by her grandmother, is missing and her dad refuses to let her try on his new tool belt.

Like the very best Seinfeld episodes, all the different plot strands come together in the end, prompting Clementine to call her own family meeting. Clementine's transformation from disgruntled sister to enthusiastic one is convincingly shown, and will leave readers eagerly waiting the next book. Hopefully Mushroom Soup (Clementine's unofficial name for her newest sibling) will be making an appearance.

Clementine and the Family Meeting
by Sara Pennypacker
illustrations by Marla Frazee
Hyperion, 160 pages
Published: September 13, 2011

This title was reviewed from NetGalley.

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