Synopses & Reviews
What happens when your sister becomes your biggest rival?
If there were a way to pick your family, fourteen-year old Franny might not pick her own. Her father is a hipster boutique owner who's constantly "friending" her on Facebook, her mother is off in Kenya jumpstarting her stalled anthropology career, and her sister Zooey, eleven months older and eight inches taller, is a precocious, prima ballerina. Lately, Zooey's so absorbed with her burgeoning ballet career that she barely seems to notice Franny. And since Zooey attends a top ballet conservatory, Franny's on her own navigating the brutal halls of her Manhattan prep school, a first-year trying to get noticed on the school paper (and by its soulful, long-lashed editor-in-chief).
But everything changes when Zooey breaks her leg and her dancing comes to grinding halt. Her ballet dreams shattered, Zooey begins to hone in on Franny's "normal" life and friends. Franny feels terrible for Zooey, but when her encroachment starts to extend to Frannys long-time crush, Franny begins to wonder if her sister might just be her worst competition...
Jane Mendle is the author of two previous novels, including Better Off Famous?, which was an American Library Association pick for Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. She lives in Eugene, Oregon.
If there were a way to pick your family, fourteen-year old Franny might not pick her own. Her father is a hipster boutique owner who's constantly "friending" her on Facebook, her mother is off in Kenya jumpstarting her stalled anthropology career, and her sister Zooey, eleven months older and eight inches taller, is a precocious, prima ballerina. Lately, Zooey's so absorbed with her burgeoning ballet career that she barely seems to notice Franny. And since Zooey attends a top ballet conservatory, Franny's on her own navigating the brutal halls of her Manhattan prep school, a first-year trying to get noticed on the school paper (and by its soulful, long-lashed editor-in-chief).
But everything changes when Zooey breaks her leg and her dancing comes to grinding halt. Her ballet dreams shattered, Zooey begins to hone in on Franny's "normal" life and friends. Franny feels terrible for Zooey, but when her encroachment starts to extend to Frannys long-time crush, Franny begins to wonder if her sister might just be her worst competition. "For 14 years narrator Franny has stood in her sister Zooey's shadow as she has danced her way to prima-ballerina status at Lincoln Center. Zooey's stardom has left Franny completely off her parent's radar, breeding contempt between the sisters. However, when Zooey suffers a major dance injury, her unusual life-and its costs-becomes painfully apparent as Franny realizes that she has taken everyday events like attending school for granted. Slowly the girls form a genuine friendship that doesn't go without a few bumps and bruises, but at the heart of their friendship is a mutual need for support. This has been sorely lacking from their parents, who have essentially both been emotionally absent, especially their mother, who is in Kenya studying, ironically enough, girls' transition to womanhood. Allusions to Salinger's Franny and Zooey are woven throughout, but those unfamiliar with that text won't miss this book's universal message about the lifelong bond of sisters and the resiliency of family."Kirkus Reviews
"Franny, 14, thinks her older sister got the better deal. Zooey is a beautiful, statuesque ballerina with a cool name. Franny is not quite five feet tall, has no talent for anything, hair that never cooperates, and, let's face it, a horrible name (the girls' parents discussed J. D. Salinger's work on their first date). Though they were close as children, the sisters now spend little time together and argue when they're in the same room. With their anthropologist mother in Kenya and their father spending long hours working in his clothing store, Franny feels more alone than ever. When Zooey breaks her leg during rehearsals for a career-making role and is homebound for weeks, the sisters get to know one another all over again. It turns out that Zooey's life isn't so perfect. There are many elements to this novel, but ultimately the story is about sisters and misconceptions. Franny is immediately likable and sympathetic, and Zooey's diva-tude is conveyed perfectly, as is her gradual regression to typical teen when she's sidelined from dancing. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti will enjoy this lighter tale of teen drama."Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, Alabama, School Library Journal
Synopsis
A lovable, acerbic heroine navigates friendship, love, and sibling rivalry inthis new novel from the author of "Better Off Famous."
Synopsis
What happens when your sister becomes your biggest rival?
If there were a way to pick your family, fourteen-year old Franny might not pick her own. Her father is a hipster boutique owner who's constantly "friending" her on Facebook, her mother is off in Kenya jumpstarting her stalled anthropology career, and her sister Zooey, eleven months older and eight inches taller, is a precocious, prima ballerina. Lately, Zooey's so absorbed with her burgeoning ballet career that she barely seems to notice Franny. And since Zooey attends a top ballet conservatory, Franny's on her own navigating the brutal halls of her Manhattan prep school, a first-year trying to get noticed on the school paper (and by its soulful, long-lashed editor-in-chief).
But everything changes when Zooey breaks her leg and her dancing comes to grinding halt. Her ballet dreams shattered, Zooey begins to hone in on Franny's "normal" life and friends. Franny feels terrible for Zooey, but when her encroachment starts to extend to Frannys long-time crush, Franny begins to wonder if her sister might just be her worst competition...
About the Author
Jane Mendle is the author of two previous novels, including Better Off Famous?, which was an American Library Association pick for Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. She lives in Eugene, Oregon.