COME SPELLING BEE season, the tiny town of Preston erupts in excitement: the bee is televised, and the hottest ticket in town. This year, an assort...
read full description
reviews
Nov 29, 2008
Joenna
rated it: 
The all school spelling bee is just around the corner and the town is going nuts! This is the one event everyone looks forward too and there is some fierce competition. Chrissy, the school detective, is finding some alarming evidence, which makes her believe the spelling bee is being sabotaged. Jennifer, whose plan to win is just to read Shakespeare, has crazy parents who try to break into the school to find the master list. Mutual, who was previously homeschooled, is super smart, but is a b
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 07, 2009
Brandy
rated it:
Chrissie Woodward is up in arms: after the debacle the spelling bee became, someone deserves to be fired--but a week later, no one has been. She presents her case notes to the school board, along with interdepartmental memos from staff and depositions from her fellow students: Jennifer, whose parents want her to win so badly her dad breaks into the school to steal the master word list; Mutual, the homeschooled kid who just enrolled at their school, despite his parents' fears of germs, corruptio
More...
Nov 08, 2010
BookKids
rated it:
I must confess for about 3 pages I thought I had made a mistake. The note that sets up the premise of the book turned me off. I guess I just fel that it wasn’t the kind of thing a student would write if she wanted to be taken seriously. And then the first page of the first chapter had more of a rambling tone than I like in a book. By this point I was seriously getting worried. So far I had liked all the books on my Should Read List. Had I reached the first one I didn’t like?
In th More...
In th More...
May 11, 2010
Madeline
rated it: 
I must confess that I originally became intrigued by this book because of the cover. I mean look at it. It’s so darn cute. So I added it to my list and started reading it last week.
I Put a Spell on You
I must confess for about 3 pages I thought I had made a mistake. The note that sets up the premise of the book turned me off. I guess I just fel that it wasn’t the kind of thing a student would write if she wanted to be taken seriously. And then the first page of the f More...
I Put a Spell on You
I must confess for about 3 pages I thought I had made a mistake. The note that sets up the premise of the book turned me off. I guess I just fel that it wasn’t the kind of thing a student would write if she wanted to be taken seriously. And then the first page of the f More...
Jul 27, 2009
Charlyn
rated it:
Chrissie Woodward is a spy. Her reports in the past have gone to the school administration and, for that work, she has been granted privileges beyond those of the average students. However, amid the plans for the school's annual spelling bee, Chrissie realizes that her reports have sometimes unfairly caused her classmates to be punished. Her careful collection of data (she may have OCD) also makes her realize that she needs to quit helping the administration and begin helping her classmates.
More...
Feb 04, 2012
Julia
rated it:
This is a great book. Personally, I think it is a little bit juvenile, but I may just be out of the target range. However, it is a really funny book. I wouldn't say that is is goofy, because it does have an interesting plot, but I think humor is one of its strongest points.
Each of the characters seems realistic, despite their ridiculousness. Mutual seems naive, not unbelievable. Jennifer reminds me of one of my friends. The only one that doesn't seem believable is Harlan. He fit fin More...
Each of the characters seems realistic, despite their ridiculousness. Mutual seems naive, not unbelievable. Jennifer reminds me of one of my friends. The only one that doesn't seem believable is Harlan. He fit fin More...
Dec 27, 2010
Amy
rated it:
I liked elements of this book very much. I was looking for a fun, lighthearted mystery to recommend to grade schoolers. Unfortch, it is seriously uneven. It took forever to get to the 'mystery' and in the meantime you kind of had to hang in with the different characters hoping that you'd start to care any minute now. I am baffled, utterly baffled, by the Nixon/Pentagon Papers stuff. There are several references to Watergate et al. throughout the book. I am certain that I missed many of the
More...
Jul 22, 2008
Lynn
rated it: 
Cute 6th grade mystery with some nice touches - a spelling word heads each chapter with a funny defintion that relates to the story. Short chapters make this a fast and fairly engaging read. I think the young set will enjoy this a lot.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 31, 2009
Talia
rated it:
The annual school spelling bee usually makes the whole town of Preston go crazy, but even more so this year. Chrissie Woodward, school detective and former hall monitor, thinks the bee may be sabotaged, and she has to put together all of the clues and figure out the truth. With suspects like homeschooled hermit Mutual, Jennifer with overachieving parents, class clown Harlan, ultra-competitive Marianne, and weasely Principal Floren, can Chrissie solve the mystery before the big bee?
Th More...
Th More...
Jan 07, 2009
CuriousLibrarian
rated it:
Would be a 3.5 if I could...
I found that I enjoyed this book quite a bit *despite* all the Nixon/Watergate stuff constantly being shoved in my face. The characters were quirky in just the right ways, and some were quite memorable, such as Mutual or the weird old ladies. And the idea of exposing a conspiracy at the spelling bee with crazy parents was very funny and I liked watching it all come together. Selzer did a pretty good job giving all of his characters their own distinct voices. More...
I found that I enjoyed this book quite a bit *despite* all the Nixon/Watergate stuff constantly being shoved in my face. The characters were quirky in just the right ways, and some were quite memorable, such as Mutual or the weird old ladies. And the idea of exposing a conspiracy at the spelling bee with crazy parents was very funny and I liked watching it all come together. Selzer did a pretty good job giving all of his characters their own distinct voices. More...
Dec 31, 2008
Fluxbrarian
rated it:
The school spelling bee is the town’s big event, and former hall monitor Chrissie Woodward, is investigating. The principal is corrupt, parents are ready to steal the word list, and tensions run high. Alternating narratives share the perspectives and stories of the students competing in the legendary bee. It gets off to a slow start and drags in the middle, but the resolution is satisfying. There is the shape of a funny story buried in here, but it desperately needs a good editor to tighten it u
More...
Nov 29, 2011
Anthony.l
rated it:
it's a epic tale of adventure and mystery the main caterer is Jenifer
and Mutal Jenifer's parents are crazy and want a good college Revere and will stop at nothing to get it mutal is a new student who motorize the dictionary at three years old and and is entering the spelling bee who will win Mutal's parents are nuts and think everyone is cruopt will jenifer and mutal finally meet who will win in the epic battle to the end
and Mutal Jenifer's parents are crazy and want a good college Revere and will stop at nothing to get it mutal is a new student who motorize the dictionary at three years old and and is entering the spelling bee who will win Mutal's parents are nuts and think everyone is cruopt will jenifer and mutal finally meet who will win in the epic battle to the end
Nov 12, 2009
Terri
rated it: 
All too soon children become teenagers who think their parents are foolish and totally out of touch! Authors don't need to rush that attitude by presenting young people with books that show adults as total idiots who behave irrationally and compulsively. There was absolutely no adult in this novel that served any purpose other than that of villain or buffoon. What a waste of my time and an insult to my intelligence!
Nov 30, 2010
711sierra
rated it:
This was a really great book. It had views of children that really show the inner workings of their brain as well as crazy adults who should all be in a low level mental hospital. It's centered around a spelling be that holds everyone in the town's hopes and dreams and put together by a girl with a strong sense of justice who feels betrayed by the school system. It was funny, educational and highly entertaining.
Jun 07, 2011
Books4m
rated it: 
I am costantly hearing people say there are no good middle grade books and constantly finding plenty of proof thats not true.
Spelling Bees are stressful, for the kids involved and the parents training them, even the school itself can go crazy, but in I Put A Spell On You they take it to a whole new level. The entire town of Preston concerns itself with the spelling bee and its winner and parents and educators alike will go to any means neccesary to give their student the edge. Deligh More...
Spelling Bees are stressful, for the kids involved and the parents training them, even the school itself can go crazy, but in I Put A Spell On You they take it to a whole new level. The entire town of Preston concerns itself with the spelling bee and its winner and parents and educators alike will go to any means neccesary to give their student the edge. Deligh More...
Jul 04, 2009
chbyoungreaders
rated it:
Corruption. Rumors. Spelling Bee? Chrissie Woodward, a hall monitor wronged by her school's administration, is looking for the truth behind the spelling bee melee. Told via Chrissie's case files, this book is a hilarious look at the sordid inner workings of spelling bee politics.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 30, 2011
Kate
rated it:
Selzer expands the Cornersville Trace universe with a fun story of a possibly-fixed Spelling Bee from multiple kid viewpoints. Pleasant, with some wacky characters.
Jan 08, 2009
The Library Lady
rated it:
Amusing. Most kids will not get the joke about the school being named for Gordon Liddy, but they'll find other stuff to laugh at....
Jun 18, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
If you thought the school sports teams were competitive, you haven't seen anything like a town obsessed with the spelling bee! Very funny!
Dec 03, 2009
Sarah W
rated it:
Amazing book! It didn't look that good but once i started reading it, I couldn't put it down.
Jun 20, 2009
Mad
rated it:
Awesome book. Gave it to a friend, didn't get it back for a looooooong time.
Jan 20, 2012
Jan 20, 2012
