Brett McCarthy: Work in Progress
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- ¥710
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- ¥710
発行者による作品情報
Brett McCarthy lives for vocabulary words, soccer, and her larger-than-life grandmother, Nonna. Unfortunately, Brett’s got a big mouth she can’t seem to tame and opinions she can’t keep to herself. And she’s obsessed with the moment she became redefined and went from good student, bestfriend-to-Diane to twice-suspended, friendless, and deadest meat in Maine. Soon her world has turned upside down, and she’s not sure where she fits, what she should do, or how to make right what she, and her big fat mouth, have made wrong. Brett’s fresh and funny voice will keep readers laughing out loud at her plights, groaning in sympathy at every misstep, and rooting for her as things go from bad to worst ever possible.
A Spring 2008 Association of Booksellers for Children New Voices Pick
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Padian's debut novel introduces a quirky and refreshing character. Fourteen-year-old Brett McCarthy is an independent-thinking jock who cherishes the time she spends with her best friend, Diane, and her spunky grandmother, Nonna. Unlike many of her fictional peers, Brett is neither beautiful nor brilliant, but simply an above-average student with a robust vocabulary and a killer instinct on the soccer field. Her life is perfect, or close to it, until an ill-advised phone prank triggers a falling-out with Diane. Soon Brett finds her identity redefined a recurrent theme from an athlete with friends to a troublemaker who's been kicked off the team. And when Nonna is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Brett must redefine herself again, from self-involved child to mature young woman. Forceful and heartwarming, this coming-of-age story examines what happens when old friends are outgrown and loved ones are no longer there to lean on. At one point, Brett says, "I had shed and added more defining characteristics than I even knew existed." And even though Padian embraces some well-worn stereotypes (the cheerleaders are pretty airheads and the jocks are blond Adonises), readers will relate to Brett's missteps and successes. Ages 12-up.
