This week's pick: Nobodies & Somebodies by Doris Orgel
Goodreads' description:
"Popularity and friendship are the themes of this quietly assured tale. Beth, Liz and Vero--the girls with whom everyone in fifth grade wants to be friends--have formed a secret club and won't let anyone else in. Janet and her friends start their own club, the Nobodies (Nobs for short). Laura, a new student, is caught in the middle: she wants to be friends with both Janet and Vero. Told from the alternating points of view of Janet, Vero and Laura, this tale of friendship and rivalry is fresh and authentic. In the course of the narrative, all of the characters are allowed to develop; even snobbish Beth and Liz are revealed to be vulnerable as well as mean and glamorous. Readers will recognize themselves in this slice of upper elementary school life."
I re-read this middle grade title several times when I was younger. It's such a classic tale of cliques and outsiders, and one that is so familiar in those years of elementary school. The way it's told from three different perspectives really lets the reader identify with the characters and get a strong sense of their individual personalities. This is a great story for anyone who's ever felt "out" and longed to be "in"...or conversely, anyone who's been "in" and has started to question whether it's worth it.
Anyone remember this one?
I think this is definitely one I could relate to and I'm sure the same could be said for many other people too. I love this feature!
ReplyDeleteI've read this book too!! I remember I really liked it! The three girls had a little club called "The Tree Top Three" or something like that right?
ReplyDelete@Stephanie: Aw, thanks!
ReplyDelete@Sy: Yes, that's right! And they gave the excuse of the word 'three' in the name to justify their exclusion of another girl. Yay, that's awesome you've read it! :D
I haven't heard of this book, although it sounds like a fun book!
ReplyDeleteOh, I just started doing the same type of thing on my blog. It's a lot of fun to recognize books you remember loving when you were younger. I haven't heard of this one, though.
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