All Q, No a: More Tales of a 10th-Grade Social Climber

I liked this book even better than its predecessor -- which is saying a lot. Mimi has really grown and deepened as a character -- her problems are more complex, less self-absorbed -- and i LOVED the journalism subplot! can't wait for the third installment...

I totally know these characters. I grew up in a place totally like Mimi's. I can't believe the reality and hilarity that this book has in it. After the first book, which totally set the stage for this one, Mimi is now faced with some social challenges and other stuff that I totally identify with. The antagonistas, as I like to call them, remind me so much of the bitchy stuck up girls from my school in Yonkers and their voices totally ring true. SPOILER ALERT - this book rocks! :"*). The intrigue and the mysteries of this book really makes it worth the read. The shady nightclubs are just like the ones I see today with kids who are who knows how young trying to act cool and people who think they're big time just because they were on two episodes of Alf 14 years ago. Anyhoo, buy this book. It's totally worth it.

Mimi Schulman is back in the saddle again...and ready to get off! She's had enough of social climbing (and scandal) to last her a lifetime, but life has other plans for her. Even though she's back in the good graces of the Baldwin Elite (they've mostly forgiven her and she's mostly forgiven Sam for throwing her to the wolves), things have just not quite settled down. It really comes back to this supposed-to-be-easy assignment for the school newspaper. The school's monetary problems are about to be solved by a large donation from Serge Ziff, a dad of one of Baldwin's most annoying students and a local art dealer, and Mimi is supposed to do a simple bio/interview with him. Easy, right? Uh, no. Between trying to pin Serge down (think greased pig) and learning about the somewhat-wacky world of the NYC arts community, Mimi feels totally out of the loop with her friends and family. Even though she's hobnobbing with some of New York's most rich and famous (and weird), she feels totally out of touch. Then she discovers the truth about Serge. Does she dare write it up? Will it kill her social standing...again? Or will telling the truth open up new doors for Mimi? I really enjoyed this one, especially Mimi's budding friendship with Harriet, an aging NYC socialite/artsy-person, who helps Mimi out. Where can I meet a Harriet? She's awesome! The other characters are equally fun and often over-the-top (in a New York kind of way). Fans of the first book will definitely like this one, but new readers can jump right in with little confusion. Recommended for readers aged 12 and up, especially if you'd like a look at the crazy high-life some New Yorkers lead without all the snarkiness and backstabbing of a Gossip Girls novel. I really like that the Baldwin School's popular girls are NOT the stereotypical rich, blonde socialites, but instead have wildly different personalities. Kimberly Pauley, YA Books Goddess @YABooksCentral.com

If you haven't met Mimi Schulman, who's tumultuous first semester at the alternative Baldwin School in New York City was chronicled with hilarious results in The Rise and Fall of a 10th Grade Social Climber, don't despair. Miri, and her up-and-down life, her crazy friends, her strange classmates, and her sharp wit and sense of humor are back in ALL Q, NO A: MORE TALES OF A 10TH-GRADE SOCIAL CLIMBER. The Baldwin School is strapped for cash, and the school's paper, Bugle, is in serious jeopardy. Mimi is already feeling down and out, since both the editor (whose own father was just indicted for money laundering) and the soon-to-be-editor haven't cared for her past articles. But Serge Ziff, father of uber-cool senior Nikola, has just donated a large amount to the school. If Ulla Lippman has anything to say about it, a big chunk of that money will be aimed towards the Bugle. To do that, they need a spread that will outdo anything that's ever come before it. And the assignment of a lifetime goes to--you guessed it--Mimi. The last thing Mimi wants is to be in the middle of a huge story, stirring things up again at Baldwin like she did during her first semester. She's vowed to not try so hard to be popular, to err on the side of caution in her social-climbing ways. What she wants most this year is to get the attention of the hottest sophomore guy, Max Roth. It doesn't look like that's going to happen, though, especially when she starts doing research for the big article on Serge Ziff and his donation to the school. Her visits to Ziff Projects for some background information don't turn out so well, and the more she digs, the more she realizes she's not coming up with a brilliant, glowing article on the school's new benefactor so much as a glaring expose on one of the city's biggest names. As a scandal boils closer to the surface, Mimi once again finds herself in the middle of school politics, personality clashes, and a couple of hotties she doesn't know what to do with. ALL Q, NO A: MORE TALES OF A 10TH-GRADE SOCIAL CLIMBER is a laugh-out-loud, surprisingly indulgent read. Once you get started on the continued life and times of Mimi Schulman, you won't be able to stop until you turn the last page. A funny, engaging read, this is one you don't want to miss.

Usually I find sequels to be terribly anticlimactic--it always seems like meeting characters & getting immersed in a world is much more interesting than revisiting known territory in search of an elusive repeatable thrill--but All Q No A was a lovely & surprising exception, perhaps because Mechling & Moser take a different approach here than they did in Rise & Fall of a 10th Grade Social Climber--this book is airy, light, flip, silly, fun, & occasionally even bizarre as the authors grow more confident in navigating their looking-glass New York...For a childless adult it is a weird ticklish pleasure to read--for a parent it may be mildly horrifying--and for an actual young adult I suspect it would be fully transporting...