June 1, 1999
Gr 3-6-A book that attempts to put the fun back in dysfunctional. Jenny is an overweight adolescent with an anorexic sister. Their eating disorders are symptomatic of their parents constant arguing. The whole family participates in various types of therapy, none of which seem to help. At school, Jenny is part of the Snob Squad, a group of four misfits. When Prairie, her fellow Snob Squadder who stutters and has an artificial foot, wishes Hugh Torkerson would ask her to the sixth-grade dance, the girls try various tactics to unite the couple. They finally get Hughs and everyone elses attention with their Pavlovian Extreme Rat-o-rama science project, in which a rat runs through a homemade maze chasing various bits of food. Unfortunately, Harley succumbs to overeating, causing Jenny to confront her own eating disorder. The plot is too neatly wrapped up when Jenny and her sister plan a dinner date for their parents to solve their marital problems. The characters seem real enough and readers will relate to some of the events, but the pat ending is too simplistic and the issues are glossed over. While fans of Peterss earlier Snob Squad books (Little, Brown) will want to read this one, too, Richard Moshers The Taxi Navigator (Philomel, 1996) is a more thought-provoking story about a child who must deal with quarreling parents.Linda L. Plevak, Alamo Area Library System, San Antonio, TX
Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 1999
Gr. 4^-6. With laughter and tenderness, this sequel to "Revenge of the Snob Squad" (1998) continues the story of the four sixth-grade misfit girls who become friends. Now one of them, Prairie (who is physically disabled), falls in love with computer nerd Hugh, and her friends try to get him to ask her to the spring dance. Narrator Jenny (who can't handle her fat problem) is the Squad leader, and she has her own secret crush on a gorgeous classmate. Her bossy, wry first-person narrative is candid, gross, self-deprecating, kind, and sad. There is mayhem in the science lab, though some of the best scenes are with Jenny's dysfunctional family, whose mealtimes resemble a silent battlefield. Even the message is funny: in a wonderful scene, Jenny rages at herself in the mirror about taking responsibility for her own problem and asking for help. Less convincing is the speeded-up conclusion, where everything inexplicably turns out right: Jenny's family finds love and happiness, she begins to stop overeating, and both she and Prairie get their true loves. Well, the title does say "romance." Fortunately, the wicked puns and one-liners subvert any formula. Many middle-graders will recognize the dreams of glamour and the painful farce at home and school. ((Reviewed April 1, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2000
Jenny and her pals the Snob Squad are back, training a rat to run an obstacle course for the school science fair and competing with enemies Ashley and Melanie for the affections of two of the sixth grade's finest boys. Jenny's snappy asides range from hysterically funny to sadly self-deprecating as she struggles with her weight and her dysfunctional family.
(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)