Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Finally 12

It's report card writing time and this week is  a busy one, so I'm re-posting a favourite Marvelous Midde Grade Monday from last year, in case you missed it.

Today’s pick: Finally 12 by Wendy Mass, published by Scholastic Press, March 2010

Summary: Rory has been waiting to turn 12 forever. Whenever she wanted something, like getting her ears pierced or getting a cell phone, her parents told her to wait until she was 12. So she’s kept a list of everything, big and small, that she wants to do. When her birthday finally comes, she starts work on getting the things she’s wanted – with funny and surprising results.

My take: If you want to write MG for girls, I definitely recommend reading this book. It taps into what 10- to 12-year-old girls are thinking about. Even though it’s got typical “girly” stuff like makeup, worrying about boys, and boy-girl parties (there’s even a couple of movie stars), Rory feels like a real kid with real parents (who are part of the story). I loved the humour and the voice in the book. Rory's story brought back many memories of what life was like for me at that age. I read through the book in one afternoon, and immediately passed it on to my daughter, who recently turned twelve.

Other info: This book is part of a series, which includes: 13 Gifts and 11 Birthdays. You don’t need to read the other books to understand this one, but if they are anything like Finally 12 I think they’d be worth a read. I'm going to look for them!

Other books by Wendy Mass:

Every Soul a Star

The Candy Makers

A Mango-Shaped Space

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (being made into a movie)

For more, visit Wendy Mass’s website and blog.