Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child by Maria T. Lennon

Pages: 288

Genre:  Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Source: I purchased

From Goodreads:

It's Mean Girls for tweens in the tradition of Paula Danziger's Cat That Ate My Gymsuit and Judy Blume! Watch out, world: here comes Charlie C. Cooper-computer whiz, reformed bully, and so-called middle child-in this seriously funny debut tween novel from screenwriter Maria T. Lennon.

Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child stars the hilariously cheeky reformed bully and tween hacker Charlie Cooper as she tries to ditch her middle-child reputation and make cool friends at her new school in Los Angeles. But being cool isn't as easy as it looks. Charlie has to face down the mean girls and decide between right and wrong once and for all when she learns the terrible truth behind Marta the Farta's bad attitude and loner status. And Charlie has to do it all in outfits meant for the runways!

Maria T. Lennon has created a fresh and fun story that brings Mean Girls to the tween level, peppered with snarky asides, major attitude, and advice to spare from Charlie-whether you asked for it or not.

My Thoughts:

Charlie comes from a family where money is no problem.  That is the problem.  She often thinks she is above getting in trouble. That is until she pulls a prank and she gets kicked out of school.  The prank was so bad her parents send her to counseling.  She hates going to the psychiatrist.  He gives her an out.  Since she has to go to a new school, she needs to find the girl who is most bullied and become her friend. 

Charlie wants to hang out with the type of kids she hung out with at her old school.  To ditch her psychiatrist she has to be come with Marta the Farta.  She will do it because she wants out of counseling.  What she learns is that Marta is not that bad.  She sees Trixie, who was just like her old friends for who she truly is. Trixie has it in for Marta and she wants Charlie to help her, even if it means she will blackmail Charlie because of her past.

This type of thing truly does go on in middle schools.  Just turn on the news and you will hear new extreme cases of teens bullying each other.  This is definitely one I will recommend to my fellow teachers and one I will recommend to my students.