LILY B. ON THE BRINK OF LOVE
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0060755415
Ages 8-12
192 pages

Lily Blennerhasset, advice columnist extraordinaire, has entered eighth-grade and developed a crush on the new kid at school, Colter Hendricks. Although she's tongue-tied and cross-eyed whenever she sees him, Lily is determined to get his attention and make him realize that he's the one for her.

A wonderful opportunity opens up for Lily, and she's hired to be an assistant to a real writer: Ellis Parson. Not knowing that Ellis is Colter's mother, she runs into him and becomes speechless. Feeling like she has made a huge blunder, she reaches out to her two best friends --- Charlotte, the future corporate executive, and Bonnie, America's teenaged hippie.

Following a series of events, one being a rock-climbing episode in which "The Boy" participates, Lily realizes that she and The Boy have absolutely nothing in common. After moping and wishing that her life was different, she finally takes her own column's advice to snap out of her funk and see what she's been missing all along.  Funny how life works; just when you think you've lost, you look around and see that you've won something much better.

Elizabeth Cody Kimmel does a great job with Lily B. With spunk and humor, she introduces readers to a variety of words and follows up with a written glossary in the back of the book. If that's not a way to enforce learning, what is? Filled with truth and the meaning of true friends, this is a perfect follow-up to LILY B. ON THE BRINK OF COOL. Looking for a good time? Try Lily B., advice columnist extraordinaire.

   --- Reviewed by Belinda Williams

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