Remembering what went wrong when she tried to help Colleen before, Emma-Jean is amazed when Colleen comes to her and asks for help again. If you were as charmed by the first Emma-Jean Lazarus book as I was, then you want to make sure to pick up this second novel. She's a remarkably well-drawn picture of quotidian anxiety.) And I love the quote from Poincare that is a perfect grace note to both books: “It is by logic that we prove, but it is in the heart that we discover life’s possibilities.” The books are full of moments like this: "And from way up there, the world around her looked huge, and her school looked so small, and she got this idea–a whispery, feathery idea–that one day she wouldn’t be in middle school, and maybe then she wouldn’t be so worried every single minute." (In fact, I like Colleen, the character who thinks that, and the absolutely ordinary foil to Emma-Jean's quirkiness, the best. I really like that Emma-Jean could be read as a person on the autism spectrum, or she could just be a girl with a different kind of mind, but Tarshis doesn’t force a diagnosis on the character and make the book A. Both Emma-Jean books are cozy little meditations on what it takes to be a good friend, how to build your self-confidence, and how to pay attention to the world around you. I'm happy that I found that story, and I can't wait to recommend it to the students in my school. I would have given it five stars, but I was waiting for Colleen to retrieve her self-confidence, her newfound strength and finally happiness without having to find a boy to reassure her self-worth.
I loved how the author showed us another kind side of the ugly face of adolescence that we always see in preteen novels, yet it was real and believable. I was touched by the tender description of their feelings, fears and hopes. The narration gently moves between the two (Colleen and Emma-Jean) girls who share an insecure attitude towards themselves as unattractive or not desirable to boys. A place that is usually described as a torturous and miserable experience for the likes of "Emma Jean" and "Colleen" our two main characters. The author beautifully illustrated one of the warmest and most tender middle-school fictional atmospheres. I loved Emma Jean ❤️ and I fell in love with that sweet and innocent story.
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