The eighth graders at school told me they like romances of the Sarah Dessen variety. I was never a reader of romances of any sort and usually steer clear of them so I told myself I really needed to start reading them. This book helped me realize that good writing, is good writing. It doesn't really matter what the content is. I was sucked in by the friendship struggles of the three girls because this was a universal thing that as a girl we've all experienced at one point or another.
Olive, Kate and Georgia are all very different but they're also the best of friends and have been since they were little. But now as seventh graders, they are finding it difficult to keep their friendship together when they start to want different things. Olivia wants to remain obsessed with her crush from afar while Kate wants to meet new friends, and new boys. And Georgia...well Georgia just wants to keep to herself. After their apartment in Brooklyn is snowed in, they decided to bake Georgia's family's famous fortune cookie recipe and go door to door delivering them to all the tenants. Their problems in their friendships come to a head, but it also forces them to come out of their shells and try new things changing things for the better.
Well-realized voices and characters, true friendship dynamics and solid reactions to fights and make-ups. The boy situation seems to wrap up a little too perfectly and the story goes on for a few more chapters then I would have expected it to, but otherwise an engaging read. The multiple perspectives that shift with each chapter keeps you interested as well.
Intended reading level: Grades 5-8 Interest level: Grade 5
Genre: Friendship, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Comparable titles: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, My Life in Pink and Green
Book connections: fortune cookies, Valentine's Day, Observation Notebooks
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