A pretty great book. I really liked the point that we all see things from our own perspective and use our own bias to judge situations.

I loved this one SO much. I listened on audio and was immediately sucked in. The setting, the characters, the weaving in of legends and middle school angst and friendships and stories. Middle grade gold.

Thought this book did a better job of not only capturing the internal emotional turmoil of 7th grade girls (which was excellent here and in The Thing About Jellyfish) but also speaking in a voice that'll appeal to the target audience (which I thought wasn't so great about The Thing About Jellyfish - it felt like it was written for adults/librarians who work with 7th graders rather than tweens themselves). Sometimes this meant as an adult reader that I lost a little interest/focus, but quite frankly keeping me engaged isn't really the point. Would definitely recommend this to tween readers who like realistic fiction.

The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin was just such a wonderful gem of a read. Caitlyn is the new girl. She's moved to a small town where all the other kids in her seventh grade class have been going to school forever, so she's a little nervous. The kids also can't stop telling her about Paulie Fink, a kid that moved away, but just was so funny and daring and all the things. Along the way, the kids decide they should have a contest to replace what Paulie brought to the school. Caitlyn is charged with "hosting" the experience based on a popular reality television show. Y'all, that part of the story is such fun as they recount Paulie's greatest hits and try to "win" the show. What I also loved about this is it's a true story of a new girl. Having been that same new girl in seventh grade, this book did an exemplary job of explaining what the experience is like. Specifically, it focused on the emotions and the want to fit in which took me right back to my own teenage years. The storytelling format was also really fun. There was some straight narration, as well as some interviews, letters, and articles. It made it really feel like it was a legit reality television show being recounted! There was also a subplot about the viability of the school the kids attended that as an adult I found really intriguing and well told. Overall, I found this one so endearing. It had some storytelling that really showed how we can romanticize memories of people, as well as the importance and power of finding friends and fitting in. In case you can't tell already, I absolutely loved this one!

I only began to really enjoy this book at the end, but I liked the themes of deciding to be the best version of yourself.

One of the best books for young people that I have ever read. Highly recommended.

Ein weiterer Gewinner des Deutschen Jugendbuchpreises und wirklich verdient!

Dabei war ich mehr als überrascht, wie sehr mir dieses Buch schlussendlich zugesagt hat. Damit hätte ich wirklich nicht gerechnet. Aber Ali Benjamin hat ein tiefgründiges Jugendbuch geschrieben, das auch aus erwachsener Sicht hilfreich ist und viele Denkanstösse bietet.

Vor allem die Charakterentwicklung ist hier wirklich gelungen. Caitlyn macht eine richtig starke Entwicklung durch und es war mir eine richtige Wonne, ihr dabei zuzusehen. Überhaupt sind die Charaktere in diesem Buch echt gelungen. Sie alle haben ihre Eigenheiten, die sie an dieser Schule auch voll und ganz ausleben dürfen. Aber auch die Lehrpersonen haben mich tief beeindruckt.

Ehrlich, hier wäre ich auch gerne zur Schule gegangen! Dieses Buch ist somit eine unerwartet positive Überraschung zum Jahresende.