"Preteen Girls Don't Always Share the Same Interests"
594228
This third book in the War of 1812 series centers more on family life in Sackets Harbor during the war than on the war itself.  In the previous book Caroline's aunt and uncle and her cousin Lydia, who is a year older than Caroline, move in with the Abbott family.  Rhonda who is a year older than Lydia comes as a border.  The older girls have mutual interests that Caroline does not share.  Consequently she feels they are ignoring her. More turmoil in that vein fills the pages of this story. It comes to a head when Caroline in a huff makes a rash decision against the advice of the older girls and risks the life of all three. By the end of the book it's 1813. Papa is still a prisoner in Canada, but the three girls have become fast friends.  I am assuming the story will return to war action in the fourth book.  Maybe Papa will get to come home.

Again the "Looking Back" section found in each book at the end of the story contains six illustrated pages relative to the plot and to life in 1812.  Book One featured "America in 1812."  Book Two featured "Wartime in 1812."  Book Three featured "Growing Up in 1812."

Teachers looking for educational materials on the War of 1812 will find these stories appealing and informative, especially for the girls in their classes.

I gave the book four stars instead of five because I expected to read more about the war.
2274198
This is an engaging story about differences and similarities. It is also about not being afraid of being afraid. When a young girl finds what she thought was a speck of light in her hair and then is involved in an adventure, she calls her friends for help.
498878
Francesca has changed schools and is facing new problems. She has only a few friends at her new school, most of her friends from before seem to have abandoned her. She is also trying to figure out more about a boy she likes. This is a young adult novel focusing on the things that are important to and affect teenagers. It is a great book that young readers can relate to. It mentions many of the things young teens are facing today. I suggest it for readers in 8th and 9th grades.
684030
The only one you can depend on 100% of the time is yourself. That was mentioned in this story and teenagers should know - that's absolutely true. Mrs. Love also talks about there being boyish girls and girly boys and that comment woke me up. The teens growing up nowadays are in a truly different world from us 30 somethings that now have teens of our own. The teens nowadays are ahead of where we were. BUT we're catching up. This story leaves me with one important question: who in the world Kevin Breel? These would be perfect for incoming freshman and 7th graders.
2294888
This book is about a girl wanting to get in to fights so that she will keep others innicient ones out of them. This girl doesn't feel any fear and sometimes enjoys getting into trouble as long as it's fysical and she can  really fight. She doesn't want her little "hobby" getting known.  Her normal life isn't that great, she doesn't live with any of her parents  and she doesn't have a lot of friends. This book isn't only about a girl  playing the part as the hero because I also think that the book contains  feelings, like (normal) teens have. Read it!
2775305
I received this book to read and review. This book is okay. It is about three girls that met in college and how they became friends and what happens in their lives. The book cuts back and forth between past and present. It has some sexual content, drug use and language so it is not for the very young. #AlwaysTheHusband #ad @StMartinsPress @SheSpeaksUp
2156749
The book description recommends this study for 8-12 yr old girls. I think it's more appropriate to girls 14-16. About 1/3 of the study focuses on dating and prep for marriage. Eight seems a little young to be worrying about that! :)

Additionally, I was frustrated with some of the content. The section on goodness focuses largely on outward behavior (here are the things that good Christians do. How many do YOU do? Try to do all of them!) While good behavior is important, what's not adequately addressed is the underlying virtues that motivate us toward good behavior, or what true goodness actually is.

Sometimes the examples given to illustrate scripture don't seem to fit or are confusing. Some sections focused on a really minor part of a verse and gave long explanations that didn't feel age-appropriate or deeply connect with the point of the verse. (For instance, there was a long passage explaining how mortgages worked at the time of the story of Ruth and Boaz.)

Overall, I'm disappointed. I'd hoped this would be a study my daughter and I could do together, but it's not suited to her age (she's eleven) and I think I'd spend more time explaining my disagreement with the text than actually learning together. It's also not broken down into a 30-day format, which is weird, since the title seemed to indicate it would be.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
2304395
This is really getting tiring... I am sick of reading reviews from people criticizing the girls' ability to write and to maintain a good "plot". This is a private journal shared between four girls chronicling personal events and thoughts. Obviously, the writing style will be at the most casual and the "plot" will seem very random. They didn't intend to have it published until the end.

Of course, this book will not be for everyone. The ideal audience would probably be new york city teenagers who can actually relate to what they are writing about and who actually know what Stuyvesant high school is. The high school cannot be compared to many others in the country. It is very unique to NYC and it can be hard to relate to especially when comparing it to high schools in suburbia.

Now, there are a lot of parents who are criticizing the frank nature of the journal and the "controversial" topics that are being addressed (i.e. drugs, sex, alcohol). Believe me, the majority of teens out there are experimenting with at least one of those things. If they're not doing marijuana then it's crystal meth or cocaine or "whip it". This is real life. Read this with an open mind. This is what teenagers are dealing with and it was very brave of the girls to publish these explicit discussions.
3248895
It was okay, just might be better for young girls in their teens. Not a gal with many years on her.
1655741
This book made its way into our ten-year-old's backpack - apparently given to her by a pair of older girls.

Are we the only parents to believe that this type of material is completely inappropriate for young girls? What kind of standards are we suggesting - that kissing and boyfriends are appropriate at this age? How many parents have to parent teenage mothers before someone takes a stand for wholesome and meaningful content and role modeling?

We have as strong a relationship as parents could have with their children. We take the time to eat dinner together, engage in family activities like hiking together, so we may be considered the exception to the rule. It's hard to believe that no one else feels as we do: that the material contained in this book is for early teens, not younger - and at minimum as one other poster said, be read with your daughter.

You decide.
4671724
We always teach my 5-year old daughter that it's good to be different and to celebrate those differences.  So this story about a princess that wants to take a class with a group instead of private lessons so she could be "ordinary" didn't really resonate...as my daughter said after the story:  "I like being different".  And the princess skipped out on her teacher to be in the group class, so not a good moral there either.

Of course, at the end, my daughter wanted me to buy the other two Princess Diadora books, so she still enjoyed the story.
4713811
I thought it would be a good inspiration for my teenage granddaughters. but there is too much information about casual sex in college life for me to buy it for them. They can find these things out for themselves, but I will not send it to them.
3247199
This is probably the type of bedtime story that Lena Dunham's parents used to read to her. I'm not a terribly uptight parent, but I don't think I'll be buying my kids a book that will give them the idea it's normal behavior to pull your underwear down with your friends and start examining each other's equipment. Maybe that's just me? Haha
3955369
My daughter was a victim of typical pre-teen drama and this has helped her understand why some girls can be so mean.
948518
I read most of my twelve-year old daughters books not only to check for content, but because it's fun to 'go-back a few years'. This book was not the greatest pre-teen book i've read lately. The wording is a little off. The plot is long-drawn out. There is one circumstance in which I felt that main character 'used' a boy in a pretentious way like he didn't even matter. What I did like about it is that it does give the old advice to'just be yourself and that's a positive message that I would want to instill in my own daughter.
1762112
Princess is the new kid in her Nashville 4th grade class. She endures teasing from Henry,  makes friends with Lolita and eventually sort-of-mean Heather joins their headband-making club.  When orders for their headbands take off, the girls try to keep some mistakes secret from their parents.  Eventually they get caught, which only makes things worse.  Luckily things get settled up by the end, and the Headband Bunch ends up with money in the bank!

Ok now, this next part is for parents/adults buying the book:

What worked for me: Princess's parents hold her to a high standard of behavior, making her publically apologize when she trips Henry in class, and calling ahead to check with parents when Princess is going to someone else's house.  Princess's mom is the catalyst for the friendship with Heather -- she won't let her daughter get away with excluding Heather from a party.
What didn't work so well: Princess is kind of mean at first, especially in her comments about other kids.  Though Princess and her friends are 4th graders, there is a subplot about who is crushing on whom--I just wish she could have been a 5th or 6th grader for that subplot.  At times (not always) the book is a bit obvious in the lessons it it teaching.

The Headband Bunch ending points towards the start of a series.

About me: I'm a middle school/high school librarian.
How I got this book: electronic review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
2964505
Her heroine, Anastasia Krupnik is pretty and yet insecure and awkward, like most 12-3-14 year olds are. As an asian girl living outside the US, i related very much to anastasia's little dramas, and also got a peek at what a typical American teenage girl's life is like.

It was enlightening to read books like this that described how; anastasia had liked this AFrican-American schoolmate, for example. And even if this book was published in the 80s, it marked the comfortability of americans with interracial relationships. The ease of slang language and even how her parents related to her (or didnt), is something familiar to every kid growing up. And what about the school cliques? and the obsessive-compulsive lists? Lois Lowry reminds me of Douglas Coupland in that sense, only, she writes for kids (which is actually harder).