Birthday-present burglars, a Tooth Fairy mystery, and an abandoned puppy – no adventure is too great for Maxine, also known as Girl Wonder!This collection of seven funny short stories is perfect for building confidence in new readers, whether reading aloud or reading alone.
From scaring Mum at Halloween to building the biggest snowball the world’s ever seen – Maxine always has a super plan and needs the help of her twin brothers, Anthony and Edward. Together the super siblings make all sorts of mischief . . . Can they fix it before Mum finds out?These seven funny short stories are perfect for building confidence in new readers, whether reading alone or reading aloud.
When Maxine has a plan, you can be sure it involves her twin brothers Anthony and Edward. You can also be sure it involves BIG TROUBLE!Nine fantastically funny short stories, perfect for building confidence in new readers, whether reading aloud or reading alone.
Publisher: Hyperion Books CH (May 3, 2011)
ARC: 292 Pages
Genre: YA Contemporary
Alexa Martin's Website
From Goodreads. As if transferring senior year weren't hard enough, Charlotte Locke has been bumped to lower level classes at her new school. With no friends, a terrible math SAT score, and looming college application deadlines, the future is starting to seem like an oncoming train for which she has no ticket.
Then Amanda enters her orbit like a hot-pink meteor, offering Charlotte a ticket to something else: popularity. Amanda is fearless, beautiful, brilliant, and rich. As her new side kick, Charlotte is brought into the elite clique of the debate team—and closer to Neal, Amanda's equally brilliant friend and the most perfect boy Charlotte has ever seen.
But just when senior year is looking up, Charlotte’s life starts to crumble. The more things heat up between Charlotte and Neal, the more Neal wants to hide their relationship. Is he ashamed? Meanwhile, Amanda is starting to act strangely competitive, and she's keeping a secret Charlotte doesn't want to know.
Review by Kate
GIRL WONDER, by Alexa Martin, is a very real portrayal of a teen girl who finds herself mixed up with the wrong people. In the beginning, I had trouble relating to Charlotte because she came off being a bit whiny about her current lot in life, but eventually my heart broke for her when she reached her lowest point.
I would say this YA book is geared toward a more mature teen audience. Martin made Charlotte face a lot of issues that are not unlike those faced by teens today (drugs, sex, peer pressure, etc.). There were times I related to Charlotte so well it was scary. She wanted to fit in (who doesn't?) and chose probably the worst person to fit in with. As an adult I could see the destructive behaviors of Amanda but I could also see that as a teenager, Charlotte would find Amanda's confidence something she would want to emulate.
Overall, Martin expressed some pretty deep and 'real' issues that I think so many teens can relate to. She truly tortured her MC and nailed the desired effect of the reader wanting Charlotte to succeed in the end. If you like realistic YA books, you don't have to look any farther.
By: Malorie Blackman,
on 3/6/2014
By: Kate,
on 5/11/2011
