Alice Miranda at School (#1) - Jacqueline Harvey
I know so many girls who are obsessed with this series. There are 16 books so far! I had high hopes, which may have been my downfall but also maybe this just isn't very good.
My main issue with this book is that it is ridiculously unbelievable. And I don't mean in the sense of fantasy or mystery - I would have loved that. But the story is about a 7 year old who, despite being incredibly annoying and pretentious, manages to befriend everyone she meets in a matter of minutes to the point that they'll do whatever she wants. I mean, I know a lot of 7 year olds, and they're pretty cool - but if any of them started acting like Alice-Miranda, I'd be referring them to a psychologist.
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Age suggestion: Although the protagonist is 7 (excuse me, "7 and one quarter"...), I'd say 8+
Ability level: This is a tricky one because of the length of the book. It's 250+ pages and the type is pretty small for a kids novel. The vocabulary is not too advanced, however, so younger avid readers would probably cope just fine. But it would certainly be intimidating for struggling readers.
Content notes: It's really annoying? Look, there may be something to be said about the fact that there are 3 male characters in the whole book, but it seems more important to note that nearly all the adults are portrayed as incompetent without Alice-Miranda's 'help'. Maybe this wouldn't have bothered me as a kid, but it just seems overdone.
Despite all that, there must be something about them in order for Jacqueline Harvey to keep getting them published.
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