Watch Out, Hollywood!: More Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child

Gr 4–6—In this follow-up to Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child(HarperCollins, 2013), Charlie Cooper is still struggling to distinguish herself among her fellow tweens. Readers will enjoy this entry more if they've already read about Charlie's adventures to make up for her bullying behavior by befriending Marta, an unpopular girl at school. At the end of Lennon's first book, Charlie had achieved personal and social success by both displaying her loyalty to Marta and discovering tunnels used by Houdini. Because of her spectacularly publicized exploits, this installment opens with Charlie planning to audition for a television series, which would, she calculates, make her the most popular girl at school and capture the attention of her classmate Bobby. But Charlie's passion for being in the limelight leads her to make a decision that puts all of that at risk. A conversation with her new agent makes it clear that Marta is actually a stronger candidate for the television role. Charlie, who is enjoying her higher social profile and writing a task list that includes items like "practice autograph," hides the truth from Marta through a complicated series of deceptions. Ultimately, Charlie's conscience and good heart win out and she tries to set things right. The novel's strength is its ability to perfectly capture the particular brand of anxieties that accompany the middle school years and concerns about friends, relationships, and the balance between wanting to do the right thing and to be liked.—Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA