CM Magazine:Emily's Rebellion. (Not Just Proms & Parties).

________________ CM . . . . Volume XV Number 9. . . .December 19, 2008

cover
Emily's Rebellion. (Not Just Proms & Parties).

Patricia G. Penny.
Montreal, PQ: Lobster Press, 2008.
140 pp., pbk., $8.95.
ISBN 978-1-897073-73-5.

Subject Headings:
Problem youth-Juvenile fiction.
Brothers and sisters-Juvenile fiction.

Grades 7-9 / Ages 12-14.

Review by Jean Nickel.

**/4

excerpt:

My mother is at it again. She's unloading the dishwasher and throwing the knives and forks into the drawer as though I'm in there.

"I don't see why you have to be so mad about it. It's not your body." I cross my arms and lean back against the kitchen counter. I know it's the wrong thing to say, but sometimes stuff just falls out of my mouth before my brain has had a chance to think it over. Spinning toward me, she gives me that look, the one that says she is totally losing it.

"Your body, Emily, is only fifteen years old! A tattoo done by a - did you call him an artist? - is stupid! Look at you -" Her eyes fill with tears as she pulls back the strap of my tank top and looks again at the winged dragon etched just above my left breast - "with a goddammed dragon of all things!"

     Emily is a rebel and has the temperament for defying her mother. When her best friend Maddy introduces her to Jeremy, a student with a bad boy reputation, Emily decides he is her type and proceeds to make sure he becomes her boyfriend. This action results in a rift between her and her two friends, Maddy and Tobi.

     Emily's grandmother has asked her to house sit for her when she takes a trip to Italy, and Emily decides to throw a birthday party for Maddy at her grandmother's place and invites Jeremy and his friends. At the end of the night, Emily's grandmother's jewellery is missing and fingers are pointing at Jeremy. Emily starts an investigation in order to clear his name, and she then discovers that Jeremy has his share of problems. As readers approach the end of the novel, they discover who the thief actually is, a discovery which results in forcing Emily to grow up and help her family.

     Emily's Rebellion, part of the "Not Just Proms & Parties" series, is a light read that teenage girls will enjoy. Even if the girls are not partygoer or rebels, I am sure they will be able to relate to most of the incidents in the book. Due to some of the content, such as online gambling and making out on the couch with your boyfriend at you grandmother&apos's, this book should be reserved for more mature students.

     The author, Patricia G. Penny, lives with her husband in Lakefield, ON. She has volunteered for the big sister program which inspired her to write stories for young teens coping with life problems. She has been a teacher and worked in the human resource field for over fifteen years, but she now writes and travels with her husband.

Recommended

Jean Nickel is a Library Technician at the Westglen School in Didsbury, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364 Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

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