'Millicent Marie Is Not My Name' Book Review & Tour

BLURB:

Twelve-year-old Millicent Marie does not like her name. After all, she was named for a woman who died more than fifty years ago and was not the most loveable member of the Harris family. Her friends call her Millie, but when she writes in her diary she refers to herself as Amanda – the name she always wished she had.

When Millie’s younger brother finds her diary on her computer, he decides to publish it as a blog for the entire world to see, including the boy Millie has a crush on. In the midst of all the mayhem, Millie/Amanda discovers she is suddenly Springside Elementary’s most sought after sixth-grade mystery gossip and advice columnist.

But not all is fun and games, as Millie quickly learns, once she realizes feelings are at stake. Nobody, least of all Millie, expects things to turn out as they do in this tale of friendship and respect.

Read an excerpt:

Carrying the grocery bags in from the garage is one of my least favorite jobs. My mother seems to have this irrational fear that we will some day run out of food and other necessities. So whenever anything goes on sale, she feels as if she has to buy the entire available stock – just in case. Our basement looks like some sort of doomsday shelter with its rows and rows of shelves overflowing with paper towels, bags of pretzels, and canned soup. At least I know I will never go hungry.

“Where’s Doogle?” I ask Mom. Why does it seem like my little brother always disappears when there are chores to do?

“Douglas is at a friend’s house.”

My mom hates it when I call my brother Doogle. I can’t help it. That has been his name since the first day my parents brought him home from the hospital. I was two and a half years old. In two and a half year old speak, Douglas equaled “Doogle.” Ten years later, it still seems to fit him. At least Douglas isn’t as bad as Millicent Marie.

The bag of groceries I lift feels like a load of bricks: ten supersized bottles of liquid soap. Well, at least we’ll all be clean.

Doogle and I used to get along great. We’d ride our bikes together, play video games against each other, and even make up pranks to pull on Mom and Dad. That was before he turned ten. Now he’s just a royal pest. He wouldn’t be so bad if he would just stay out of my stuff. I’m constantly catching him in my room, and when I ask him what he’s up to he always has an excuse. “Mom sent me up here to get blah blah blah.” Doubt it. I wish I had a lock on my door. After all, I am twelve. A girl needs her privacy you know.

“So Millicent Marie, what’s this I hear about you not trying out for the soccer team this year?” Mom asks.

“How did you know that?”

“I ran into Mrs. Tiller at the grocery store. She said she was talking to Mrs. Nelson who had heard it from Mr. Siegel who was talking with Coach Darden just a few days ago.”

“The gossip mill at its finest,” I mumble.

“What’s that?” Mom asks.

“Nothing. I was thinking of joining the Drama Club instead. They’re doing a musical mishmash of fairy tales and classics called Romeo and Cinderella.

“That’s ... different. But I hate to break it you, your singing voice is not the best – and I’m not sure your acting is much better for that matter.”

Sigh. Gotta love Mom, always so supportive. “I want to be on the stage crew. You know, help with set design and other backstage stuff.”

“But soccer’s your thing. You’ve been playing since you were five years old.”

Soccer was my thing, but honestly, after the experience I had at the soccer clinic last week, I had no desire to hang out with any of those girls anymore. It all started when Haylee Tyler, the girl who has for some unknown reason hated me for years, started a rumor about me liking Dan Holt, which was so not true. Now, Jordan Cowell, he’s another story. Jordan is tall and cute and funny and in the Drama Club. Anyway, back to Haylee. So she told everyone on the soccer team that I liked Dan, who by the way, is the geekiest kid in the entire school. So what if I ate lunch with him the other day? To be honest, I felt bad for him. Everyone else is so mean to him all the time. It isn’t his fault he has bad skin and enjoys a good math problem. Besides, we’ve been friends since kindergarten. He’s a nice kid once you get past the dorkdom. Anyway, Natalie - she’s my best friend - wasn’t in school, so I decided to sit with Dan. What’s the big deal?

Well apparently Haylee and her sidekicks thought it was funny enough to write “geek lover” in lip-gloss all over my locker. I wound up missing half the clinic cleaning it up. This was not the first time, either. For whatever reason, Haylee Tyler takes great pleasure out of making my life miserable. Normally, I’m able to just brush it off, but this year Haylee announced she was joining the soccer team. My soccer team. Rumor has it that Coach Darden had been trying to get her to play for years. I hate to admit it, but she’s pretty good. Much better than me, and I’ve been playing forever. I’ve heard she’s even up for team captain. Still, it doesn’t mean she gets to treat me that way.

“Well, I was thinking I would try something new. Besides, Doogle gets to try different activities, why can’t I?”

“Okay, Millicent Marie, I suppose you’re right. It’s good to try different things. Can you do me a favor and put Sparkles’ food in the basement? My back is really acting up today.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks, Millicent Marie,” Mom says, walking back into the house.

Sure, I’ll grab the fifty-pound bag of dog food that our tiny eight pound dog-wanna-be will never even eat because we already have ten other bags of it in the basement. Yup, five hundred and fifty pounds of dog food for one scrawny, little mutt named Sparkles. Doogle named him. Welcome to my family.

**My thoughts**

I loved this book! I feel like there is a new trend of kids in late elementary/middle school putting up blogs and keeping journals. I mean, you have Wimpy Kid and the Blogtastic series, which I have reviewed and read before. Those series have been fun for me to read. I think I liked this book better, though.

Millie is funny in her observations of her family and the world around her. Her mother has watched too many episodes of Extreme Couponing. Her brother is your usual pain in the butt. Her best friend makes me cringe during her exaltations, but feel grateful for her devotion. I found myself laughing out loud throughout the book.

Millie has an air of intelligence and realism about her that I felt was missing from those other series. She could have been me at that age, or any of my friends. Thank God my little sister never found any of my diaries and that the Internet didn't exist when I was that age!

I feel like many readers will understand Millie's desire to take on a new persona as she is trying to feel more like she fits in at her school. Few people are truly comfortable in their skin as they enter those awkward tween years. Friendships and relationships are changing. Life is confusing and complicated. Sometimes you need someone you can talk to, and parents are not always the easiest option. That's what makes "Amanda" such a good friend to one particular reader. 

Kids at that age are also notoriously gossipy and are quick to point out the faults of others. This seems to carry on through at least high school, if not beyond. Millie learns an important lesson about how gossiping is just as bad as "telling the truth" all of the time. If it is hurtful, it shouldn't necessarily be shared.

I would love to see more books about Millicent Marie!

Buy links: Amazon | Kindle

BIO:

Karen Pokras Toz is a writer, wife and mom. Karen grew up in Connecticut and currently lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and three children. In June 2011, Karen published her first middle grade children’s novel for 7-12 year olds called Nate Rocks the World, which won First Place for Children’s Chapter Books and the Grand Prize Overall in the 2012 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, as well as placing first for a Global E-Book Award for Pre-Teen Literature. In 2012, Karen published the second in the Nate Rocks series, Nate Rocks the Boat, followed by middle grade novel, Millicent Marie Is Not My Name. Karen is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).

ONLINE LINKS:

Website: www.karentoz.com

Blog: http://kptoz.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/karenptoz

Twitter: www.twitter.com/karentoz

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5009570.Karen_Pokras_Toz

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of 'Zombie Kid Diaries Vol. 2: Grossery Games'

The Zombie craziness continues in the second installment of the series. Bill's mom now has a job as a greeter at Mal-Mart, thanks to her super-duper zombie reflexes helping to take down a shoplifter. Bill is all excited about the annual "Spanksgiving Day Spectacular" fighting game tournament that is coming up. He needs to save some face after being beaten by a girl who loves Hiya Kitty in the last book. Unfortunately, his plans are almost thwarted by a mandatory class field trip to an overnight camp the same weekend.

His new zombie side effects are claws that grow out of his feet and hands. The only way to cut them is to chew them off. Gross. The school bully is filming a new TV show in which kids have to eat bugs if they lose whatever game he chooses to play. The school staff is even supporting it!

He spends his time plotting how to make a break from camp to the video game challenge while also dodging anything that will out him as a zombie. We also finally hear his theory on how he and his mom were turned into zombies, which was missing from the first story.

I didn't like this book as much as the first one, but it was still entertaining. I think kids are going to enjoy it no matter what. There is a third installment due out called Walking Dad that looks promising.

Review of 'The Zombie Kid Diaries Vol. 1: Playing Dead'

I have never been a big fan of zombies and have been somewhat skeptical of these "diaries" series that have been coming out in full force lately. But Zombie Kid Diaries: Playing Dead had me laughing out loud on the very first page. I don't know how many younger readers will understand the concept of the dog Rickrolling as "Never Gonna Give You Up" plays as the ringtone from the phone he swallowed, but it sent me rolling.

Our devoted diary writer, Bill, lives with his mom and is attending middle school. His father is in jail, after a botched arson attempt trying to secure some money after losing his job. Mom's new job is volunteering for medical research for money. His goal in middle school is to be invisible and barely skate by, so that he can stay out of AP classes and fulfill his dream of being a professional gamer.

Middle school is a pain, of course, and his mom is acting funny. She is shuffling instead of walking, her face is droopy, and she is highly uncoordinated. He is starting to notice weird smells at school, like chocolate syrup. He can eat worms, which now taste like candy, and prefers the taste of moldy cereal to regular cereal. His farts cause people to pass out. Yup, he's a zombie.

His new tastes are going to turn a human's stomach, as diced earthworms and roadkill are not a delicacy in my household. You'll find yourself squealing with disgust and snickering as he learns to make his way through his new role in life.



I received an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.