Dia L. Michels (Children's Literature)
Melanie Martin is a ten-year-old girl who lives in Manhattan. When her parents announce that she, her six-year-old pesky brother, and her parents are going to Italy, she has no idea what she'll find there. With her eyes wide open and her diary in hand, she lands in her first foreign country. She learns about painting, parmesan cheese and pasta, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. As we share the journey through her diary pages, we watch Melanie become more accepting of things new--and of things not so new. The perils of travel (getting lost, pickpockets, medical emergencies) and the joys of travel (new languages, new foods, new worlds) help Melanie come to a greater understanding of who she is. Melanie's journey is fun, educational, poignant, and humorous. Her diary, filled with great stories, keen observations, and quirky doodling, is a wonderful way to share the journey. And quite a journey it is, because Melanie finds more than statues and gelato on the other side of the ocean--she also finds herself. 2000, Alfred A. Knopf, $15.95. Ages 9 to 12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2000 (Vol. 68, No. 9))
This teen gossip columnist's fiction debut floats like a bubble in the breeze, despite plenty of traumatic events and sibling conflict. Off to Italy for ten days with little brother Matt and parents Marc and Miranda, Melanie fills up her diary with details of the long flight and subsequent jetlag. Encounters with new people ("Almost everyone here speaks Italian-even kids") and food, visits to famous places ("The Leaning Tower of Pisa is soooo cooool"), family squabbles, and a chain of calamities, from running into one of her father's old flames on her parents' anniversary and having to search-twice-for a missing Matt, to having a wallet stolen and needing a quick trip to the emergency room after a fall. All's well that ends well, heigh ho; Melanie returns to the States with new tastes for gelato and parmesan cheese, a greater willingness to appreciate people-even dorky classmate Norbert-and an unaffected poem that sums up her experiences. Sprinkled with exclamation points, pronounced Italian words ("piazza (Pee Ot Za)" etc) and small drawings, Melanie's journal will tease fans of the Eloise sequels and like travelogues into further armchair adventuring. 2000, Knopf, $15.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 11. © 2000 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 2000 (Vol. 53, No. 10))
Melanie, her parents, and her younger brother, Matt, are on a family vacation in Italy, where Melanie learns to appreciate Michelangelo, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and even Matt. Melanie relates her trip in a breezy style, addressing her diary (and the reader) directly and including little drawings, fancy lettering, Italian phrases (complete with pronunciation guide), and docent-ish information about museums, churches, and sculpture. Weston captures the voice of the bright, excitable Melanie with ease, and the dynamics between the siblings are right on the money (their favorite museum game is “Point Out the Naked People”). Melanie’s journal tends toward travelogue, however, and while readers may come away knowing a little more about Italy and Renaissance art, they will know less about the main character. Still, the voice is convincingly girlish, the setting unusual, and the wrap-up (on the plane home, Melanie writes a thoughtful thirty-line poem about the trip to complete a homework assignment) satisfying. Weston, advice columnist for Girls’ Life magazine, has her finger on that preadolescent girl pulse, and the result is fluff with flair. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2000, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2000, Knopf, 144p, $15.95 and $17.99. Grades 4-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2000)
It's spring vacation and Melanie Martin is off to Italy with her family and her new diary. Not a moment is left undocumented, including a visit to the emergency room and losing her brother in the Vatican. Though many of the situations have quick resolutions, Melanie's matter-of-fact narration is amusing and carries the story through to the end. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2000, Knopf, 149pp, $15.95, $17.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.