Reviewer: Connie Payne
Title: Poor Me
Author: Dara Edmondson & Raina Edmondson
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: E-book (Short Story)
Release Date: October 2007
Genre/Sub-genre: YA Fiction
Year/Setting: Present Day - Miami
Overall rating: 4.0
Sexual Content Rating: None
Language (Profanity) Content Rating: None
Violent Content Rating: None
Dara's Website: www.daraedmondson.com
Jessie seems as if she’s got it all together. More so than her mother who has found it hard to keep a job or keep them in one home or apartment. But when her mother gets a job at a private high school, which allows Jessie to attend tuition free, her togetherness starts to unravel.
Not wanting her new "friends" to know she’s poor or that her mother works as the school secretary, Jessie pretends not to know her. Things start snowballing out of control. Continued snarky comments about her mother cause the guilt to weigh heavy, but with a potential boyfriend on the horizon, well…
The truth will come out sooner or later. How will Jessie handle it? How will her "friends" react?
Poor Me is a fresh twist on a classic and all too familiar subject. Not only are Jessie and her dilemma absolutely believable, they call up sympathy and understanding from the reader.
I appreciated the direct yet sensitive way in which the authors approached the subject. It reaches out to the reader, the teen, with a sense of kinship, showing them while their situations may not be exactly as Jessie’s they’re not alone.
The writing was clear, tight, and visual. A very enjoyable, but (too) short, story, one that I’ll make sure my niece reads.
Now…dare I hope this is a series in the making?
Connie
Question or comment regarding the review or the book? Click here and let Connie know.
Top
Reviews
Featured Reviews
Archived Reviews