Book Review: This is Me From Now On by Barbara Dee

This is Me From Now On by Barbara Dee

Publisher: Aladdin

Publish Date: April 27, 2010

Paperback, 240 pages

My Review:
Cute fun book.  Reminds me very much of my middle school days, full of friends, boys, gossip, fights, and school work.  Barbara Dee nails this book spot on for the middle schoolers.

What did I love: the characters, how true to life they were.  Francesca wanted a friend and wanted to fit in while retaining individuality.  Her life had it's problems but she didn't focus on them.  Evie, wanted a change and Francesca offered it, but she didn't want to leave her old friends behind either.  As Francesca and Evie break out into their project and snooping into teachers' lives and learning more about each other, they also learn about themselves.  There were some great lessons in this book for tweens, some I wish I had learned myself when I was that age.

A fun quick read, great for tweens and early teens, though as an adult I enjoyed it as well.  It's cute, adorable and thought-provoking without being heavy or too cutesy.  Just an all-around good read.

My Rating:  4.0/5.0
About the Book:
Sometimes your life just needs a little jolt. 

This is what Evie's new friend Francesca tells her, and soon enough, Evie's life has had something more like an earthquake. Francesca thinks life is dull unless you go after everything you want and say everything on your mind all the time--and sometimes that includes giving other people a little behind the scenes help to give them what she thinks they want.

Evie can't always tell if she's horrified or fascinated by everything Francesca convinces her to do, but ultimately, she comes to see friendship--and life--in a whole new light.

About the Author:
Barbara Dee is a graduate of Yale University, Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English, and the University of Chicago Law School. She has taught high school English, practiced law, and reviewed books. She lives with her husband and three children in Westchester County, New York.  You can visit her on the web at www.BarbaraDeeBooks.com.

FTC Information: I received this book through 1-ARC-Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.