My Big Sister Is So Bossy She Says You Can't Read This Book

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 2 MAY 2005

This snappy, irreverently funny first novel introduces 10-year-old Effie, who is inundated with more than her share of problems at parochial school and at home. Six years after her father is exposed (then jailed) as a white-collar criminal, Effie's family still struggles to regain a sense of dignity within the community. Meanwhile, Effie tries to cope with the loss of her grandfather (whose ashes she steals and hides in a thermos), and she is anxious to find a new best friend to replace Lola Jo, who moved to Pensacola two years ago. Then there's the matter of trying to configure the "perfect" design for a "kid-friendly toilet-seat cover," the project Effie has chosen for the annual Science Olympics. However, for Effie's biggest, most pressing dilemma, she has her bossy, trouble-making older sister, Maxey, to thank. Maxey, it appears, stole a good deal of money from the scout treasury box placed under Effie's charge. Effie doesn't want to get blamed for the theft; on the other hand, she doesn't want to upset her mother by tattling on her sister. While some of Effie's predicaments are a tad over the top (e.g., she loses her grandfather's ashes during a rainstorm and nearly gets struck by lightning), her emotions and reactions do ring true. Little sisters in particular will alternately bemoan and giggle over Effie's quandaries and will revel in big sister Maxey's eventual repentance. Ages 8-12.