Synopses & Reviews
'Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang are best friends with one goal: to crack the code of popularity. Lydias the bold one: aspiring theater star, stick-fighting enthusiast, human guinea pig. Julies the shy one: observer and artist, accidental field hockey star, faithful recorder. In this notebook they write down their observations and carry out experiments to try to determine what makes the popular girls tick. But somehow, when Lydia and Julie try to imitate the popular girls, their efforts dont translate into instant popularity. Lydia ends up with a bald spot, their parents wont stop yelling, and Julie finds herself the number-one crush of Roland Asbjørnsen. Worse, they seem to be drifting farther and farther from their goaland each other.
Amy Ignatows hilarious debut novel introduces the intrepid fifth-graders Julie and Lydia, whose quest to understand popularity may not succeed in the ways they want, but will succeed in keeping readers in stitches.'
Review
andquot;Ignatow keeps the narrative lively, even as the girls work through embarrassment and sorrow. A fitting finale that suggests the duo will, in fact, survive eighth grade and beyond.andquot;
Synopsis
Best friends Julie and Lydia are back in this hilarious sequel to Amy Ignatow's breakout novel
After spending all of fifth grade studying popularity together, Julie and Lydia are finally ready to put their hard-earned lessons to use in junior high. But before they can, tragedy strikes: Lydia's mom gets a job in London for six whole months Before Lydia can say "fancy a cup of tea?" she's thrust into a new school, where she earns a reputation as "the Violent American." Meanwhile Julie's stuck navigating the cliques of American junior high on her own, where she is adopted by a group of troublemaking eighth graders known as the Bichons. The two best friends will have to learn to keep in touch and stand on their own, assisted as always by their trusty notebook. Amy Ignatow's signature sense of humor is on full display in this satisfying sequel.
Synopsis
Best friends Julie and Lydia are back in this hilarious sequel to Amy Ignatow's breakout novel!
After spending all of fifth grade studying popularity together, Julie and Lydia are finally ready to put their hard-earned lessons to use in junior high. But before they can, tragedy strikes: Lydia's mom gets a job in London for six whole months! Before Lydia can say "fancy a cup of tea?" she's thrust into a new school, where she earns a reputation as "the Violent American." Meanwhile Julie's stuck navigating the cliques of American junior high on her own, where she is adopted by a group of troublemaking eighth graders known as the Bichons. The two best friends will have to learn to keep in touch and stand on their own, assisted as always by their trusty notebook. Amy Ignatow's signature sense of humor is on full display in this satisfying sequel.
Synopsis
After spending six months apart in Book Two, best friends Julie and Lydia are reunited at last! Julie has said good-bye to the mean girls, and Lydia is ready to apply her hard-earned friendship lessons to founding their own crew. But bad news interrupts their reunion: their friend Sukieand#8217;s mother, ill for many years, has passed away. This shakes Lydia and Julie, who reevaluate their goals and decide to focus more on being supportive of the friends they have. Unfortunately, their well-meaning schemes almost immediately start to go awry, and everyone seems to be mad at them for reasons beyond their control. How can they be better friends when no one seems to want to give them the chance? As always, Julie and Lydiaand#8217;s hilarious back-and-forth notes form the backbone of the novel, in which Amy Ignatow reveals all-too-real truths about friendship and loyalty.
Synopsis
Itand#8217;s summertime, and Julie and Lydia are going on a road trip! After all the ups and downs of their first year in junior high, theyand#8217;re looking forward to seeing the sights and getting some new perspective on their quest for popularity. Papa Dad and Daddy will provide the transportation, and theyand#8217;ll provide the entertainment.
At first Julie and Lydia use their Powers of Observation to catalog the traditions and oddities of each new location they visit, but soon their attention turns to parents and family and negotiating sensitive family dynamics. By the time the duo hits familiar streets again, they may have to accept some uncomfortable truths, but their journey is infused with the humor, heart, and truthfulness that Amy Ignatow is known for.
Synopsis
Lydia and Julie have been through many adventures as they navigated junior high, popularity, families, and friendship. In the final adventure in the series, the peaceful world of Hamlin Junior High is rocked when Lydia and Julie learn that theyand#8217;re going to have to play host to new students whose school burned down. The outside threat bands the Hamlin kids together against a common enemyand#8212;for a while. When the enemy gets their hands on Lydia and Julieand#8217;s notebook, no one wants anything to do with the girls. Itand#8217;s the biggest threat to their friendship (and a pretty definitive failure of their quest for popularity), and it can only be solved one way. Two words: dance battle.
About the Author
'Amy Ignatow is an illustrator and teacher who has also been a farmer, a florist, a short-order vegan cook, a dancing chicken, an SAT prep instructor, a telefundraiser, a wedding singer, a ghostwriter for Internet personal ads, a reporter, and an air-brush face and body painter working under the name Ooga.” She graduated from Moore College of Art and Design and lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Mark, and their cat, Mathilda, whom they believe to be well-meaning despite all evidence to the contrary.'