by Susan Tan; illus. by Dana Wulfekotte
256 pages; ages 8-12
Roaring Brook Press, 2017
Cilla is on deadline: she's trying to finish her great American novel before her baby sister is born. Because once there's a baby in the house, people tend to forget about you.
There's just one huge problem: her name. Cilla, full name Priscilla, wants a more writerly name. Something cool, like Supernova Hemingway.
Looking for writerly inspiration, she turns to her family. Cilla observes that babies are bald. She remembers how hard it is to grow hair (she was bald when she was five) and how rude people can be when they ask questions like "what are you" and don't accept answers like "author extraordinaire". She remembers how she loved snails until she tried to share them with her friends and they all said, "yuck!"
When adults ask where she is from, she tries to be polite. At first she'll tell them where she lives. Then, when they say, "no, where are you originally from?" she'll reveal that she's really from her mom's belly. Because she looks different than other people, she gets asked where she's from a lot.
While Cilla is all set to write a memoir, once her sister is born she realizes that the world is bigger than she thought. It's filled with aliens, time travel, and unexpected adventures.One of the things I especially like is Cilla's guide to life and literary terms.
Supernova Hemingway -- Ha! What a great name. Wish I'd thought of that. This sounds like a fun read. I'm intrigued by many of the problems she faces. Thanks for telling me about it.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun book!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun book to read. Thanks for telling us about it.
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