Girls Acting Catty (Annabelle Unleashed)

Readers were first introduced to Annabelle in Leslie Margolis' novel BOYS ARE DOGS. After training the boys at school and her puppy, Pepper, Annabelle is back and as strong-willed as ever! She's adjusted to her new school and life with her mom's boyfriend, Ted. She's found some cool friends, too. Things take a sharp turn when her mom and Ted decide to get married. Her future stepbrother, Jason, is coming for a visit. To make matters even worse, Jason becomes Pepper's new favorite friend! At least she's got her friends to get her through: or does she? The girls in the popular crowd take notice of Annabelle. Taylor seems to be the leader and knows just how to rope everyone in to her ways. Annabelle has to decide whether to join this clique or stick with her old buddies. What's a girl to do? GIRLS ACTING CATTY doesn't disappoint. I was hoping this sequel would live up to my expectations, and it did! Annabelle is facing many choices and challenges while on the brink of becoming a teenager. This book will definitely leave the reader ready and waiting for Annabelle's next adventure. Reviewed by: hoopsielv

Girls Acting Catty was a great book to read. In this book, Annabelle is a new girl in town and Rachel is a mean girl who makes it hard for Annabelle to fit in. When Annabelle arrives in town, she makes friends with some of the other girls, but they are not part of the popular crowd. Rachel is beautiful and popular, and eventually invites Annabelle to be part of her group, but Annabelle wouldn't be able to include her other friends. Eventually, she has to choose between Rachel and her older friends, and it is a hard decision to make. This book was very interesting to me because it was something that everyone could relate to in their own school. The setting was very realistic because the characters and the things that happened could happen to anyone. That made the book more interesting. I also thought that the story had a very good message, and I liked the ending. I would definitely recommend this book to others. Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer Flamingnet Book Reviews Teen books reviewed by teen reviewers

Girls Acting Catty was a fun, refreshing sequel to Boys Are Dogs which I read a couple of weeks ago. Margolis sees perfectly into the mind of a sixth grade girl, Annabelle was very believable and likable. I liked how she could stand up for herself and was a really good friend. In Girls Acting Catty, Annabelle had to deal with some mean girls and some of their remarks even made me wince- ah the fond memories of sixth grade. It's a very hard grade and of course filled with a lot of firsts. Annabelle experienced getting her first bra and learning how to shave her legs, but all of these her mom helped her out with. Annabelle's mother was very cool and easygoing, but she didn't have that big of a role in the book. That was one thing that got me a little confused all the characters. Annabelle has four best friends, and sometimes I couldn't keep track of who was who. Her best friend Rachel was a nice friend and she was perfect for Annabelle. I really liked Jason, her stepbrother. He was a fun character and he added a lot to the novel. In addition to the characters, I really liked the plot. It was something a lot of girls have to deal with- bullies. Margolis, as she did with Boys Are Dogs, added her own twist to the plot and she did a great job of showing how Annabelle matured from the beginning of the book to the last page. Annabelle also learned a lot about friendship and what it means to be a real friend. I was glad I got to see more of Pepper in this book and even met a new character- Yumi's cat. In the end I would recommend this to any girls eleven and up. It's a realistic, funny, and honest look at the life of a sixth grade girl and is filled with likable characters and a unique plot. I'm anxious to see where Margolis takes Annabelle and her friends next. I also really like the covers of these novels (Boys Are Dogs and Girls Acting Catty), they're so simple yet represent the story perfectly. I wonder what pet will be idolized on the cover of the third book? Rating; Plot: 9/10 Characters: 8/10 Ending: 9/10 Enjoyment: 9/10 Cover: 9.5/10 __ Overall: 44.5/50 = 89%

Girls Acting Catty is the sequel to Boys Are Dogs. Having not read the first novel, I was worried I would not understand anything, but Margolis catches the reader up to speed fairly easily and quickly. Annabelle was a wonderful character, and I couldn't help but to laugh at her "Firsts" as I remembered mine. Margolis really captured those moments of how it feels to be a tween and she made it real. Everything Annabelle was going through felt legitimate. Her depiction of Annabelle was wonderful as well, and she was an easy character for me to relate to (despite the fact that I'm past my tween years). The secondary characters were wonderful as well. Taylor had me wondering if she was "catty", or if she was a nice person underneath it all. Rachel is a totally awesome best friend, and the other girls and boys were entertaining. I loved how Margolis really hit on something that everyone does in life: gossip. Let's be honest, girls can be vicious, and Margolis shows the tween side of it all. I loved the messages this novel presented in the end, and the message elementary/middle-schooler's can receive from this. Highlights: I have to admit, I totally love the Annabelle's dog, Pepper. Jason (Annabelle's soon to be stepbrother), was a great character to add to the mix as well, and I found myself enjoying the novel more whenever he popped in (mostly because I found Annabelle's reactions to him amusing). Lowlights: I just wanted a bit more drama. The things that happened did not seem like it was that big of a deal. At times, I also found myself rolling my eyes at Annabelle's actions sometimes, but she is a kid, after all.