Monday, November 7, 2016

Standiford, Natalie. The Only Girl in School.

Standiford, Natalie.  The Only Girl in School.  Scholastic Press  2016  214p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-545-82996-0  ms  Realistic fiction  VG

Claire is miserable.  She is now the only girl in her entire school on Foyes Island in the Chesapeake Bay, and she is suffering mightily.  Not only has her best friend moved to California, her other best friend Henry has succumbed to the threats of the class bully and won’t talk to her or hang out with her.  She is ignored or belittled by her classmates and must fight for her place on the soccer team and in sailing races.  The engaging story is told through a series of letters between Claire and her best friend Bess, complete with drawings of her schoolmates.  As the school year progresses, Claire’s challenges continue to mount.  She is, however, a very determined girl and won’t let anything stand in her way.  The plot is spiced with dramatic if slightly unrealistic anecdotes about Claire’s ongoing battle with the boys and her discovery of ghostly treasure.  It provides an absorbing adventure.     

Summary: Claire is now the only girl in her entire school on Foyes Island in the Chesapeake Bay, and she is suffering mightily.  Not only has her best friend moved to California, her other best friend Henry has succumbed to the threats of the class bully and won’t talk to her or hang out with her.


School-Fiction, Bullying-Fiction                      --Susan Ogintz

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