Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, September 2000 (Vol. 34, No. 5))
Mackler's mentors are Judy Blume and Paula Danziger, and this first novel will appeal to those authors' many readers. The main character is a teenage girl named Sammie, whose parents have decided to have a trial separation. Sammie has always been closest to her father, and is stunned to lose his company as he goes to California; instead Sammie is expected to move to Manhattan with her mother, a struggling, frequently hysterical woman who thinks she might pursue an art career. Mostly this mother reads self-help books and hides in her bedroom while Sammie has to try to take care of them both in a strange place. Sammie is so furious with her father she avoids his phone calls and any real communication with him. This is the story of one hot summer in New York City when Sammie learns just how strong she really is. Mackler has much of the offbeat humor that Blume and Danziger use in their fiction--readers will love the exaggerated situations and overblown emotional reactions. The plot turns around the parents' separation, of course, but also features Sammie's attempts to understand why she is so loyal to an old friend who uses her as a convenient shrink, confiding every detail of her sex life and stormy love affair. A new friend comes into her life, sharing Sammie's devotion to her dog. Best of all comes the connection with a family that has an attractive son who gets interested in Sammie: they share a love of folk music, of all things. So that is the basic situation. This will be popular. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2000, Random House/Delacorte, 247p, $14.95. Ages 13 to 18.

Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 2001 (Vol. 54, No. 5))
Sammie’s life is in an uproar: her parents are separating, her father is fleeing to California, and her mother is moving sixteen-year-old Sammie and herself from upstate New York to New York City. Once ensconced in their tiny apartment on the Upper West Side, Sammie is left on her own while her mother has an emotional meltdown, alternating between headache-induced days in bed and feverish reading of self-help books. Sammie barely speaks to her father when he telephones (other than to tell him everything is fine), her mother is emotionally unavailable, and her best friend from back home is so self-absorbed it never even dawns on her to ask Sammie how she’s doing. Sammie lives on cereal and takeout; she finds a sympathetic friend, Phoebe, at a Central Park dog run; and she develops a tentative crush on Eli, oldest son of her mom’s friend, Shira. The emotional tension builds until Sammie gets so angry about being left to handle everything alone that she has her own meltdown, finally triggering some grownup behavior from her parents. Sammie is a determined character coping with life at an emotional crossroads with humor and self-awareness. Her narration is by turns bitingly funny and sadly bitter, revealing a perceptive and intelligent personality. A lot of the action here is internal, but Sammie’s rapid-fire narration keeps everything moving right along. This is a well-crafted novel with a personable heroine that will be an easy sell on the young adult floor. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2001, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2000, Delacorte, 247p, $14.95. Grades 7-10.

Kendall Diane Brothers (VOYA, October 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 4))
Sixteen-year-old Sammie Davis is forced to move with her mother to New York City when her parents split up. Already unhappy about the move, Sammie faces more difficulties when her mother becomes depressed and discouraged about her job hunting, forcing Sammie to take on the caregiver's role. Sammie makes a new friend while walking her dog and falls for the son of her mother's best friend--despite having him foisted on her constantly by their mothers--as she learns how to be her own person. This debut novel is both funny and sad. Sammie is a realistic teenager, with genuine fears and fancies. Her description of the Big Slobbery Makeout at sailing camp is worth the read. Her developing friendship with Phoebe, a fellow dog-lover with family pressures of her own, is authentic and bittersweet. Sammie's conflicting desires--to grow up and stay the same, to be independent while still her parents' beloved daughter, to experience life but stay close to her old home, to fall in love while remaining innocent--will resonate with younger teens who are themselves standing on the edge of adulthood yet are not ready to leave all childish things behind. The resolution of the situation with her parents is a bit too pat, but it is an almost-but-not-quite-happy ending that will satisfy readers. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2000, Random House, 248p, $14.95. Ages 11 to 15.