Out of Order
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Book Overview
"We'll have fun," Mom pleaded. "You've always wanted a brother--" "A younger brother," said Parker. "I wanted a younger brother." "But Eric is great. He'll-" "You don't get it, Mom. I've always been the youngest. Now I'm going to be even younger "
Before her mom remarried, Lily was the eldest; now she has dropped to second from the bottom. Her 13-year-old stepsister, V, is brilliant, popular, and seriously beautiful, but "lately she's been toxic waste." That, however, is only Lily's viewpoint. Hicks tells her uproarious story in fast, alternating narratives from the four stepsiblings, who suddenly find themselves together in a blended family. Along with all the jealousy and hurt, they still have fun, as when they hold a rock-paper-scissors competition for a neighborhood fund-raiser. There's also a little puzzle. Who has destroyed the tomatoes that V has been growing to raise money to send soccer balls to kids in Iraq? Without heavy message, the switching viewpoints make readers privy to the family secrets and the lies, as the combination of farce and tenderness in daily life brings home both the struggle and the fun.--BooklistFormat:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0312373554
ISBN13:9780312373559
Release Date:October 2007
Publisher:St. Martins Press-3PL
Length:176 Pages
Weight:0.40 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 4.9" x 8.0"
Age Range:8 to 12 years
Grade Range:Grades 3 to 7
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Many people can relate to this book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I think that many people could relate to this book, including me. All the characters were different, which I thought made the story more interesting. Betty Hicks did a good job tieing in all of the characters into one story plot.
"If you're the youngest, can you get even younger?"
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
For years, Lily was the oldest in her family; then, as soon as her mom married Frank and their two families blended together, Lily became a middle child. "Out of Order" looks at what it means to suddenly have a whole new family and a new place in the birth order. In this book, 4 kids, ages 9 to 15, have to learn how to adjust in order to get along and still keep their personalities (and their sanity!). The chapters alternate the point of view of the kids, so readers have a lot more insight into motivations and history than the characters themselves. This is a fun, fairly realistic portrait of a common situation in many families today. A quick read (chapters are very short) for grades 4-6.
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