LILY B. ON THE BRINK OF COOL
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0060005866
Ages 9-13
256 pages

• Read an Excerpt

Future biographers of Lily Blennerhassett, rejoice! Lily B. is keeping a journal to assist you in your work (and also because she needs the credits for Advanced English). Yes, Lily expects to be a great novelist one day, winning all kinds of accolades and awards. In the meantime, her life is dull with a capital D --- especially this summer.

Her best friend Charlotte leaves to attend Young Executive Camp. Lily's parents drag her off on Family Outings to tour accordion manufacturers, learn how to spin yarn, make cornhusk dolls, and other adolescent tortures. Well, let's face it: Lily's parents are uninteresting. Her father drives the speed limit in the fast lane. Her mother cares so much that people won't find them untidy that she makes their beds while staying at motels.

Ho hum.

Excitement skyrockets into her boring existence when Lily meets the glamorous LeBlanc family. Karma and her parents, Charles and Veronique, are Cool People. They're beautiful, dress amazingly, and care about the important things in life, such as the environment and vegetarianism. Lily herself must be on the brink of cool to be hanging out with these hip folks. But why have Lily's parents forbidden her to spend time with the LeBlancs? When Lily stakes all for her fabulous friendship, her life becomes a nightmare.

The story, told in rapid-fire diary entries, grabs the reader. I sat down to read a few pages and, gripped by the mystery of Lily's new buddies, finished the book in one enjoyable sitting. It's hard to imagine a more endearing character than Lily, who grows and changes throughout the story in a most satisfying manner. Elizabeth Cody Kimmel expresses essential themes --- the importance of family and the meaninglessness of appearances --- skillfully and joyfully. This is the stuff of which rabid fans are made. Oh, how I am hoping for a sequel!

   --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

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