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| Perma-Bound Edition ©2008 | -- |
| Paperback ©2008 | -- |
Family life. Oregon. Fiction.
Clubs. Fiction.
Acting. Fiction.
Actors and actresses. Fiction.
Sisters. Fiction.
Oregon. Fiction.
The three Reel sisters, ages 8 to almost 13, have acting in their blood. More than 100 years ago, their great-great-grandmother built the house in which they live and founded the Raven Theater next door. Their parents are actors, so it's no wonder that life in the Reel household pivots around auditions, rehearsals, set construction, and performances. Even the girls' daily interactions with one another are theatrical, thanks to author McDonald's flair for quick repartee and her skill at transforming preadolescent high jinks into hilarious episodes. McDonald even pokes fun at Shakespeare as this eclectically composed novel unfolds through middle-sister Stevie's narration, the journal entries of Joey, the youngest sister, and the light dramatic scenes scripted by Alex, the oldest. Some reflection on the impact of theater on audiences as well as on actors, examples of the girls' testing their self-reliance to help out in a two-working-parent household, and lots of genuine family affection surfaces among the flooding floors, disastrous dinners, and entertaining meetings of the Sisters Club.
Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)Sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey narrate this slight story. Alex, the eldest, wants to be an actress and is starting to outgrow her younger sisters' childish games, while Stevie and Joey struggle to keep their relationship close by forming a Sisters Club--secret knock and all. The usual family dynamics are at work here, and most readers will recognize their own family in this quick, entertaining read.
Kirkus ReviewsThe show must go on with the Reel family. Sisters Alex, 12, Stevie, 10, and Joey, 8, negotiate the waters of sisterhood better than most. Except for middle-child Stevie, the Reel family is born with the acting bug. Dad is the set builder for the Raven Theater and mom, dad, and oldest sister Alex are all actors. Using a combination of personal journals, family-life scripts, and first-person narratives from each sister's point of view, McDonald paints the picture of an entirely normal family in a somewhat unusual line of work. While working on Beauty and the Beast, Alex survives her first crush, a boy coming over for dinner, a kiss, squabbles with her sisters, and a broken ankle right in the middle of the play. But the sisters rally and the show is saved. A light-hearted, enjoyable production for all, especially the reader. ( Fiction. 7-11)
School Library JournalGr 4-6-The Sisters Club consists of three girls, ages 8, 10, and 12, whose family is heavily involved in local theater. The Club dissolves and reunites through episodes of family life over four "acts" (in place of chapters) and an intermission. The narrative is carried by Stevie, the middle sister, in conventional type, but the other two siblings contribute through interesting graphic formats. Alex, the eldest, writes plays about their family, and Joey, the youngest, offers handwritten, illustrated journal entries on lined paper. These short entries, along with small pages, plenty of white space, and painted toenails on the hot pink cover, should appeal to most girls. The packaging will probably be enough to make up for details that don't always ring true, such as an 8-year-old saving for a cornhusk doll kit or a 12-year-old inviting her crush to a family dinner when she is just getting to know him.-Laurie von Mehren, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
ALA Booklist (Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2003)
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)
Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal
Being in the middle is like being invisible.
Especially when you're the middle sister in a family with three girls.
Think about it. The middle of a story is not the beginning or the end. The middle of a train is not the caboose or the engine.
The middle of a play is intermission. The middle of Monkey in the Middle is a monkey. The middle of Neapolitan ice cream is . . . vanilla.
"I'm vanilla!" I shouted one day to anybody who would listen. Plain old boring vanilla.
Nobody listened.Alex, my older sister, ignored me. She just kept writing stuff in the margins of her play script (what else is new!) and muttering the lines under her breath.
Easy for her. She's strawberry.
I was sick of it, so I told my family how I hate being the middle. Middle, middle, middle.
"Hey! The middle of 'Farmer in the Dell' is the cheese!" Joey, my younger sister, reminded me.
"The cheese stands alone," I reminded her back. Alex looked up. "There's a book about that, you know. I Am the Cheese."
Yeah. My autobiography, I thought. "Wait. You think you're cheese or something?" Joey asked.
I ignored her. They just don't get it. I mean, the middle of a year is, what, Flag Day? The middle of a life is a midlife crisis!
I told my dad I was having a midlife crisis.
"You're going to give me a midlife crisis if you don't get over this," Dad said. I asked him to name one middle that is a good thing. Dad had to think. He thought and thought and didn't say anything. Then finally he told me, "The middle of an apple is the core."
"Um-hmm. The yucky part people throw away," I said.
"How about the middle of the night? That's an interesting time, when people see things differently." I pointed out that most people sleep through the middle of the night.
Then he shouted like he had a super-brainy Einstein idea. "The middle of an Oreo cookie is the sweet, creamy, best part. You can't argue with that." He was right. I couldn't argue. If I had to be a middle, that's the best middle to be.
"See? You're the peanut butter in the sandwich," said Dad. "You're the creamy center of the cookie that holds it all together. You're the glue."
I'm the glue?
Maybe Dad's right. After all, I'm the one who came up with the (brilliant!) idea for the Sisters Club, back when I was Joey's age. Alex gets to be the Boss Queen, of course, so she runs the meetings. Joey (a.k.a. Madam Secretary/Treasurer) takes the notes and collects dues (if we had any money). I keep the peace. I am the glue!
The Sisters Club Charter by Joey Reel
CLUBHOUSE: Alex's room
MEMBERS: Reel sisters only
UNIFORM: Pj's are good. Plaid is bad. Except when it's pj's.
MASCOT: Alex's sock monkey, named Sock Monkey (I wish it was Hedgie, my hedgehog.)
LOGO: Three sock monkeys arm in arm
ALTERNATE LOGO: Troll doll with the "no" sign over it
SECRET SIGN OR HANDSHAKE:
Hook pinkies together while saying, "Sisters, Blisters, and Tongue Twisters."
SECRET KNOCK: I don't know how to write it!
I just know how to do it. Sounds like:
Da-da-da, da-dee-dee-doh.
PASSWORD: Shakespeare (Shh! Don't tell!)
ACTIVITIES: Tell secrets and scary stories, eat popcorn and ice cream, stay up late, have sleepovers in Alex's room (I mean the clubhouse!).
DUES: Only if we need popcorn or ice cream and we're out of them.
RULES: No throwing pillows or other objects, except in an official pillow fight.No putting crumbs in Alex's bed on purpose.
No using Alex's brush to brush your hair .
No taking stuff from Alex's room (especially anything with glitter).
Excerpted from The Sisters Club by Megan McDonald
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
From the author of the Judy Moody books, this exciting novel captures the warmth, humor, and squabbles of three spunky sisters.
Meet the Sisters Club: twelve-year-old Alex, aspiring actress and born drama queen; eight-year-old Joey, homework lover and pioneer wannabe; and smack in the middle, ten-year-old Stevie, the glue that holds them together — through dinner disasters, disputes over stolen lucky sweaters, and Alex’s going gaga over her leading man. Playfully weaving Stevie’s narration with Alex’s scripts, Joey’s notebook entries, and hilarious elements such as "How to Swear in Shakespeare" and "Dear Sock Monkey" letters, this hugely engaging novel showcases Megan McDonald’s ear for dialogue, comic timing, and insight into the ever-changing dynamics of sisterhood.