The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter by Kristen Tracey (mg)
320 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, January, 2011. 978-0-385-73688-6. (Borrowed from the public library)
What better time to reinvent oneself than upon entering middle school? Each year is a potential new beginning, but the move to middle school, or high school, or college? Well, they are momentous. Eleven-year-old Bessica is ready to cast off her elementary school self and start anew. She begins by strong-arming her best friend Sylvie into symbolically and physically burying their shared diary. Sylvie doesn't really want to do this, but she caves in the face of Bessica's logic. She also goes along with her idea to get matching pixie cuts. Only the cut isn't as flattering to Sylvie as it is to Bessica. This is the last straw for Sylvie's mother, who was of the opinion that Bessica is a bad influence. She not only bans Bessica from any contact with Sylvie, but has enrolled Sylvie in a different middle school, leaving Bessica friendless on the first day of school.
On top of that, on the same day, she learns that her grandmother, her rock, is leaving on a six-week spelunking vacation with Willy, the boyfriend she met online. How will Bessica cope with the psycho bullies? Who will she sit with during lunch? Will she be relegated to "loner town" with the goths? How can Bessica break up Willy and her grandmother? Will she ever make new friends?
Imagine Clementine as a middle schooler. Bessica is not the easiest main character to like. She's self-centered and a bit rash. Still, the situations she blunders into are quite humorous. The cover is sure to appeal even though it really doesn't match Bessica's style.
I ordered this through ILL because I received the sequel, Bessica Lefter Bites Back to review for SLJ. I have a thing about jumping into series. I prefer not to and, since I had time, decided to read both. This is the first book that I've read by this author, but I've read and been interested in a few of her YA titles, such as Sharks and Boys and Lost It. Visit her on the web.