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abigailbat's review
2.0
I mean, it's fine. Friendship is a very popular topic in early chapter books and this book doesn't super stand out to me among them. Sylvie kind of half-heartedly has a Junie-B-Jones-like voice, but it's not consistent enough to be an appeal factor. I'd skip this one and hand young readers Anna Banana.
mrskatiefitz's review
3.0
This review covers both The Best Friend Battle and [b:The Mean Girl Meltdown|24612550|The Mean Girl Meltdown (Sylvie Scruggs, #2)|Lindsay Eyre|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423543968s/24612550.jpg|44223604].
Sylvie Scruggs - the star of a brand-new Scholastic series by debut author Lindsay Eyre - is sassy, spirited, and sporty. In The Best Friend Battle, she finds herself feeling jealous of her best friend Miranda's new friendship with Georgie, a boy in the neighborhood who teases Sylvie on the baseball field. Frustrated with having to share Miranda's attention, she puts herself in competition with Georgie to give Miranda the best birthday present imaginable, leading her to accidentally steal Georgie's ferret, which she believes he intends to give to Miranda. In the second book, The Mean Girl Meltdown, Sylvie joins a hockey team, where she finds a steeper learning curve than she expected. She begins to see star player Jamie Redmond as a rival, to the point that she automatically blames Jamie for pranks being done against members of the team.
Both of these stories represent a much-needed addition to the lower end of the middle grade spectrum. For one thing, Sylvie is a girl who plays sports, a character type that is not that widely represented. Girls who are on sports teams will enjoy reading about Sylvie's athletic strengths and weaknesses, and boys will also appreciate the action of the sports scenes. It's also nice to have a middle grade story to recommend that involves hockey. In 2015, there just aren't that many kids who want to read The Chicken Doesn't Skate, no matter how much librarians try to talk it up. The Mean Girl Meltdown will be a great addition to library collections for that reason alone.
Also refreshing is the fact that, instead of dwelling on stereotypical girl drama, Eyre focuses on the very realistic flaws in Sylvie's personality and the mistakes she sometimes makes as a result of innocence and inexperience. Rather than condemning Sylvie for her occasional poor judgment, Eyre constructs a story that allows Sylvie to work through her difficulties and come out stronger, more self-aware, and more empathetic to the people around her. The solutions Sylvie comes up with are always age-appropriate and believable, and each story ends with an effort at making amends with those she has hurt. There is also a lot of humor and gentle suspense involved in each story, which helps kids connect easily with Sylvie's experiences and want to keep reading. Sylvie will be welcomed warmly into the imaginations of readers in grades 2 to 4 - and parents will love her too!
On her website, Lindsay Eyre lists Sara Pennypacker and Hilary McKay as two of her favorite authors, and indeed their books - Pennypacker's Clementine series and McKay's Lulu's series - are the perfect read-alikes for Eyre's own books. Others include the Ivy and Bean books, Kate the Great (Except When She's Not) by Suzy Becker, and Quinny and Hopper by Adriana Brad Schanen.
Sylvie Scruggs - the star of a brand-new Scholastic series by debut author Lindsay Eyre - is sassy, spirited, and sporty. In The Best Friend Battle, she finds herself feeling jealous of her best friend Miranda's new friendship with Georgie, a boy in the neighborhood who teases Sylvie on the baseball field. Frustrated with having to share Miranda's attention, she puts herself in competition with Georgie to give Miranda the best birthday present imaginable, leading her to accidentally steal Georgie's ferret, which she believes he intends to give to Miranda. In the second book, The Mean Girl Meltdown, Sylvie joins a hockey team, where she finds a steeper learning curve than she expected. She begins to see star player Jamie Redmond as a rival, to the point that she automatically blames Jamie for pranks being done against members of the team.
Both of these stories represent a much-needed addition to the lower end of the middle grade spectrum. For one thing, Sylvie is a girl who plays sports, a character type that is not that widely represented. Girls who are on sports teams will enjoy reading about Sylvie's athletic strengths and weaknesses, and boys will also appreciate the action of the sports scenes. It's also nice to have a middle grade story to recommend that involves hockey. In 2015, there just aren't that many kids who want to read The Chicken Doesn't Skate, no matter how much librarians try to talk it up. The Mean Girl Meltdown will be a great addition to library collections for that reason alone.
Also refreshing is the fact that, instead of dwelling on stereotypical girl drama, Eyre focuses on the very realistic flaws in Sylvie's personality and the mistakes she sometimes makes as a result of innocence and inexperience. Rather than condemning Sylvie for her occasional poor judgment, Eyre constructs a story that allows Sylvie to work through her difficulties and come out stronger, more self-aware, and more empathetic to the people around her. The solutions Sylvie comes up with are always age-appropriate and believable, and each story ends with an effort at making amends with those she has hurt. There is also a lot of humor and gentle suspense involved in each story, which helps kids connect easily with Sylvie's experiences and want to keep reading. Sylvie will be welcomed warmly into the imaginations of readers in grades 2 to 4 - and parents will love her too!
On her website, Lindsay Eyre lists Sara Pennypacker and Hilary McKay as two of her favorite authors, and indeed their books - Pennypacker's Clementine series and McKay's Lulu's series - are the perfect read-alikes for Eyre's own books. Others include the Ivy and Bean books, Kate the Great (Except When She's Not) by Suzy Becker, and Quinny and Hopper by Adriana Brad Schanen.
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