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Library | Material Type | Shelf Number | Child Count | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Branch | Juvenile Book | J FICTION KOSS, A SMO | 1 | Juvenile Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Branch | Juvenile Paperback | Y FICTION KOSS | 1 | Juvenile Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... South | Juvenile Paperback | J FIC KOSS | 2 | Juvenile Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
As Mitzi's mother tries unsuccessfully to quit smoking, Mitzi pretends her mother has a terrible disease, Stipitis, in order to win sympathy and affection from a boy she has a crush on.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-The New Year is starting out great for Mitzi Burk. Her mom has decided to quit smoking, she has the best friend a girl could want, and she's seated next to Mike Humphrey, her first crush. Then, in the space of one short month, things change dramatically. Mitzi's mother is totally wrapped up in her unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking (the cleanliness quit, the vigorous-exercise quit, and the group quit) and her best friend has found a new, cooler friend, leaving Mitzi behind. Worst of all, however, is the growing lie she has told Mike in order to make an impression on him-that her mother has the horrible disease "Stripitis." Koss does an excellent job of expressing how adolescent minds work. The characters and plot are well developed and will be familiar to many readers. Short chapters and sparkling dialogue will appeal to even the most reluctant readers. Fans of Koss's The Ashwater Experiment (Dial, 1999) will love this comical page-turner.-Shilo Halfen, Chicago Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Witty and deftly paced, Koss's (The Girls) sprightly novel revitalizes a familiar plot. Sixth-grader Mitzi, the narrator, has been desperately trying to get her classmate Mike to notice her. When she gets an eyelash in her eye and starts to tear up, she is positively thrilled that he asks if she's okay. The eyelash seems too banal to mention, so almost before she knows it, Mitzi is telling Mike that her mom is sick (well, her mother is in a terrible mood from trying to quit smoking). "What should I have said?" she asks the reader. "I was crying over war? World hunger?" The lie takes on a life of its own, and soon Mitzi's whole class is making sympathy cards to help her face her mother's recovery from a critical operation ("Our hearts are with you," writes the teacher on the envelope). The author cleverly balances the lighthearted with the thoughtful, and her characterizations are both on target and very funny. Mitzi's quick repartee with her friends and parents shows particular understanding of middle-graders and their concerns, and the adults, too, are lifelike. Kids will get a strong message about the addictiveness of cigarettes, as well as about the pitfalls of straying too far from the truth, but the lessons never get in the way of the laughter. Ages 10-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In order to get the handsome Mike Humphrey to notice her, sixth-grader Mitzi takes an extreme measure: she lies and tells Mike her mother is dying. To add to her problems, her mother is in a terrible mood because she's trying to quit smoking, and Mitzi's best friend finds another friend. The escalating reverberations of Mitzi's lie are told with humor and sympathy. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-8. Seemingly harmless little fibs have a way of spinning out of control, as poor Mitzi learns the hard way. Mitzi has an enormous crush on Mike Humphrey, and he suddenly talks to her--right when she's tearing up because of something in her eye. Nervous and unwilling to let him get away too soon, she claims the tears are because her mother is very ill. Bad idea! The fib grows and grows, and suddenly Mitzi and her family are the object of embarrassing attention at school. Thankfully, the story doesn't get carried away with the antifib message; it's a breezy yet poignant look at young adolescence. The difficulties Mitzi's mom experiences as she tries to quit smoking are credibly shown through Mitzi's eyes, as are the stresses of adolescent friendships and wanna-be relationships with boys. A snappy read with appealing characters. --Anne O'Malley