This review was originally published on my other blog in 2007.
(Revised. I read this over and decided there needed to be a bit more explanation of the plot.)
I
have had mixed success with books by Andrew Clements. I didn't like
the otherwise well-received Frindle, and I actively disliked The Report
Card, but I thought The Landry News was fine. This book goes in the
positive column. I enjoyed it.
The story is about two
friends, Natalie and Zoe. Natalie is a gifted writer and has just
written the first part of her first novel. She shows it to Zoe, who
thinks it is fabulous and thinks it should be published. They know just
the person to publish the book, Natalie's mother, who works as an
editor for a children's book company. But they want the book published
on its merits and not just because of Natalie's connections. So Zoe
decides that Natalie should use a pseudonym to submit her manuscript
under and she, her agent, will use a nickname. The kids also enlist the
aid of one of their teachers. During the course of the book, we
discover that Zoe is a gifted arranger - she does the things that an
adult agent would do to get her client's work published.
The
book isn't overly dramatic or wildly exciting - it is just a good,
mostly honest story about writing, publishing, and friendship.
Recommended. (Middle Grades - not teens.)
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