Synopses & Reviews
CHOOSING BETWEEN PARENTS AND FRIENDS Candyfloss is the perfect introduction to jacqueline Wilson. When Floss's mother and stepfather announce they are moving to Australia for six months, Floss has to decide whether to go with them or stay home with Dad--inept, but loving and always lots of fun. And how will her choice affect her friendship with her popular but not-so-loyal best friend, Rhiannon? About girls everywhere, for girls everywhere, Candyfloss speaks in universals: it's about friendship, family, and growing up in a complicated world. Like all Wilson's novels, it has an honesty and cheerful integrity that offers a real alternative to the materialistic values of so much fiction aimed at girls.
Review
School Library Journal Gr 4-7-Flossies mom is remarried and has a prosperous life with her husband and baby. Flossies dad, however, is close to 40 and hasnt gotten it together. Overweight, depressed, and financially hard up, he is his own worst enemy. When Flossies mom and stepdad move to Sydney for six months, Flossie convinces her mother to let her stay with her loving but inept father in London. Her life changes drastically when she starts going to school looking unkempt and smelling of her fathers greasy-spoon café. She loses her superficial and status-conscious friends, but makes friends with Susan, whose background is more like hers. After numerous trials that end in near homelessness, Flossies father finally puts the divorce behind him. When he encounters Rose, a fortune-teller and cotton-candy maker with a traveling carnival, hes met his true match. Flossie is a likable character who discovers the meaning of true friendship, suffers hardship with aplomb, and learns some important life lessons along the way. Readers will cheer her on and feel satisfaction when she sees her ex-best friend for the bully and snob that she is.-Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, ID
Review
“Floss, bless her brave little heart, is showing up in a publishing era that is largely ignoring stories like hers in favor of glitzier, sexier mean-girl fare. For girls who have outgrown Ramona, but are still wary of “The Clique,” Floss makes an able, admirable companion. She may not live next door, but youll wish she did.”—
The New York Times Book Review“. . . a poignant, gently humorous, and totally satisfying tale. Flossie is charmingly believable . . .”—Booklist, Starred Review
“This tension paces a novel that contains many compelling, sometimes gritty, elements . . . Flosss emotional turmoil should hook girls.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Wilson (second in popularity only to J.K. Rowling in the UK) mixes familiar situations and concerns with a brisk pace and a main character her tween-girl readers would like to be best friends with—quite the winning package.”—The Horn Book Magazine
“Flossie is a likable character who discovers the meaning of true friendship, suffers hardship with aplomb, and learns some important life lessons along the way. Readers will cheer her on and feel satisfaction when she sees her ex-best friend for the bully and snob that she is.”—School Library Journal
“British author Wilson portrays heavy issues of poverty, bankruptcy, drunken/bawdy adult behavior, bullying and unconditional parental/child love through a determined protagonist and a group of believable secondary characters.”—Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Move to a fabulous new home half way around the world with Mom, or stay home with dear old Dad? Floss has to make an impossible choice.
Synopsis
Floss loves spending weekends with her dad in his greasy spoon café. But when her mother and stepfather announce they are moving to Australia, Floss finds herself in an impossible situation. If she decides to stay with Dad, inept but loving and lots of fun, she wont get to see her mom for six whole months. But if she goes with her mom, can her dad get along without her? Even worse, how will her choice affect her precious friendship with her popular but not-so-loyal best friend, Rhiannon?
About the Author
Jacqueline Wilson is the author of almost one hundred books, including Candyfloss, published in 2007 by Roaring Brook Press. Together, her books have sold more than 25 million copies and been translated into 30 languages. She is the 2005-2007 British Childrens Laureate, and has won numerous major literary awards, including the Guardian Childrens Fiction Award, the Smarties Prize, and the Childrens Book of the Year. Her next book, Best Friends, will be available September 2008 from Roaring Brook Press.