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Aug 02, 2010

Tom rated it:

Very, very funny and insightful look into what it means to be young and discovering yourself and the world.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2011

MacKidsBooks added it

hysterical! everyone will find a little bit of Amy in themselves as they get a front row seat to her antics, adventures, and attempts to keep busy in the absence of her best friend.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2011

Reading Vacation's Mom rated it:

REVIEW

My fortune cookies say…

Change can be a good thing.

Amy starts off being very self-centered. I really didn’t care much for the all-about-me attitude that she had early in the story. Since Amy’s best friend, Callie, moves away, Amy finds herself being open to making new friends and putting herself out there. Even though she wasn’t thrilled about it at first, Amy realized that the world does not revolve around her life in New York.

One-sided emails can be confusing.

This entire book is presen More...

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Jan 19, 2012

Karen rated it:

Amy is having a difficult year because her best friend Callie is spending it away from their New York City home living in Kansas with an aunt and uncle. Amy has a crush on John, but is irritated to the extreme with her remaining friends. She finds an unusual ally in Miss Sophia, a neighbor who was a librarian for 30 years and is now interested in helping Amy with a school project involving the diary of an immigrant girl. Miss Sophia also brings along her nephew, Beryl, who is from a Hasidic fami More...

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Jul 22, 2010

Noni rated it:

A First Read from an advance reader's edition which I received for free. Where or where was the editor who could have shared his/her wisdom to help turn this book into a truly terrific one for this age group. It reminded me of the old adage "Too many cooks, spoil the broth" and in this case too many scenarios that have this wandering all over the place. I liked the authenticity of Amy being assigned a terrific immigration project as most schools cover immigration in detail in the eigh More...

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Jul 23, 2010

Kim rated it:

Please note: I received an ARC of this book through the First Reads program. The book itself comes out in August.

Amy Finawitz, an eighth grade New Yorker, is devastated when her best friend Callie moves to Kansas for a year. Who will be her friend while Callie's away? Surely not the knitting (or is it crochet) obsessed Judy or dorky Claire? But when her social studies teacher assigns each student the diary of an immigrant and tells them to put themselves into their shoes, Callie beco More...

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Jul 20, 2010

Aurali rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 30, 2010

Marjorie rated it:

So I enjoyed the humor and the quirk and the NYC setting and the fact that THANK GOD this is a contemporary story (how many middle-grade and teen Holocaust novels have I read at this point? YAY AMY FINAWITZ FOR BEING A FUNNY, NON-HORRIFIC CHANGE OF PACE) and the use of an immigration curriculum to teach the somewhat narcissistic Amy a little personal growth. The fact that the protagonist is frequently unpleasant rings really true — hello, realistic tween! Alas, the epistolary format didn’t entir More...

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Jul 28, 2010

Karen rated it:

This was a First Reads win. It was a cute, fun read. Told through Amy's e-mails to her friend Callie who is spending the year in Kansas. At times the e-mails got rather lengthy and it felt like the author just threw in a greeting and a goodbye to continue the conciet. There was interesting info about Judaism, but I think the author missed an oppurtunity to teach the reader even more. I think a glossery ala Georgia Nicholson would have been helpful for the reader who didn't know some of the Jewis More...

1 comment like

Jan 27, 2011

Inspired Kathy rated it:

If you are looking for a fun read, peppered with the sarcasm and wit of an 8th grader, give The Life and Opinions of Amy Finawitz a try.

Amy starts the book being quite self-centered. Everything is all about her. The story is told in the form of emails Amy sends to her friend who has moved away, abandoning Amy in NYC with no friends or social life. I enjoyed Amy's snarky comments and humor as she communicates the woes of her life to her friend. Through the course of the 4 months this More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 19, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

I loved this book! Not only is Amy hilarious, but she is perfect combination of what makes YA fiction so appealing to teenage girls. Amy is neither a Damsel in Distress or a Kick Ass girl. Instead she is wonderfully recognizable as an ordinary kid who could easier be one of her readers peers: the thirteen year old in me wanted to be friends with Amy and also to be her.

It doesn't hurt that the email/play structure is clever without being gimmicky, that the story is compelling or that More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 17, 2011

Rachel rated it:

Amy Finawitz's life isn't exactly looking up right now. Her best friend Callie has just moved to Kansas for the rest of the year, leaving Amy stuck in New York with a social life that consists of avoiding people more than actually going out. Worse, her brother has dropped out of college to "follow his inner chi", her parents are driving her crazy and her teacher thinks she feels like a little abandoned emu. But when Amy finds a Callie-Replacement, an elderly neighbour and her religious More...

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Jul 16, 2010

Barbara rated it:

This very enjoyable book is aimed at ten to thirteen year olds, and that is a very accurate representation of who this book would appeal to the most. It is written as a series of e-mails and one-act plays exchanged between eighth grade friends who are dealing with being apart for a year, although you are only privy to the main character, Amy's, side of the conversation. The issues that are dealt with, such as social cliques, fitting in, friendships, selfishness, acceptance, and loyalty, and the More...

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Mar 09, 2011

Melissa rated it:

This book is about Amy Finawitz who writes to her friend daily about her school. One day she recives a project from school. It is is an immergrant journal! With this project she will have to tour around the city discovering things that the person also discovered. But she is not alone. She forms a "dream team" , which is made up of an old librarian and a super religious kid.
This book is written in email from, and is funny and entertaining. I love the charachers personality, More...

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Dec 15, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

I loved this book! Not only is Amy hilarious, but she is perfect combination of what makes YA fiction so appealing to teenage girls. Amy is neither a Damsel in Distress or a Kick Ass girl. Instead she is wonderfully recognizable as an ordinary kid who could easier be one of her readers peers: the thirteen year old in me wanted to be friends with Amy and also to be her.

It doesn't hurt that the email/play structure is clever without being gimmicky, that the story is compelling or t More...

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Aug 04, 2010

Cari rated it:

I won this book from a give-away. It is one of my secret joys to read young adult books from time to time. They are fun and lighthearted. This book was no exception.

Amy's best friend moves away for the year and this is the story of how Amy deals with that. It's written in a long series of emails, which could have been annoying but wasn't.
Amy befriends a series of oddball characters through her need to complete a homework assignment and their strangeness combined with Amy' More...

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May 02, 2011

NebraskaIcebergs rated it:

There are no wizards, demi-gods, vampires, werewolves, fairies, zombies, or any other supernatural entities in The Life and Opinions of Amy Finawitz by Laura Toffler-Corrie. Instead there are two middle-school girls who like email, a former librarian senior citizen, a conservative Jewish boy, a nerdish jock, and several normal characters with normal abilities, normal faults, and normal lives. Yet this is an exceptional book.

For starters, here's the cast of characters. Besides Amy and More...

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Oct 03, 2010

Mandy rated it:

I thought the cover was super cute and promising. I was a little put out by the fact that the book is written for 10-13 year olds (according to the back of the book), when it's full of swear words. I didn't speak that way when I was in middle school (or even now, as an adult for that matter) so why is it in this preteen book? The main character is such a pessimist, too. Won't read this again.

1 comment like

Jul 20, 2010

Brenda rated it:

I won this book on firstreads. I can usually tell when I'm not interested in a book when I'm feeling anxious and keep checking how many pages I have left. That was the case with this book. Although it was a quick read, I had to make myself go back to it. The email format of the book did nothing for me other than make me nostalgic about the days of penpals. I didn't feel connected with the charachters. However, I did like the plot around solving the mystery.

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Jul 09, 2010

Claire rated it:

Told in emails, this is Amy's eighth grade year. Callie has abandoned Amy and moved to Kansas- yes, it is All About Amy who is snarky, smart, and a little afraid to face the world without Callie at her side.
This is the year that Amy finds out there is life after Callie.
Ultimately a fun read about a very sassy girl.

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Sep 13, 2010

Christine rated it:

I won this through First reads. 3 1/2 stars. The main issue I had with this book was the format. The writing style did not really seem consistent with the voice of a young teen writing to a friend. BUT I was invested in the story and the characters. I found Amy to be self-absorbed but still likeable. I liked very much that she learned to see people beyong the initial impressions and preconceptions of who they are.

Most importantly, I can think of at least a half-dozen girls I More...

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Jul 15, 2010

Ruby33 rated it:

Wow! This is one of my favorite books! Being around the age of the main character, I really related to some of the things she was going through. I also found the voice to be hilarious, and it had me chuckling outloud. And to top it all off, there was a sweet message in it as well as a cool discovery at the end.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 14, 2011

Tiara is currently reading it

It is very funny and heartwarming,and I learnt lots of vocabulary such as cross-dressers!!! The plays in this book inspired me to write a play,too,and my friends think it is lovely!!!!

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Apr 22, 2011

Smog1997 rated it:

Since I'm Jewish, I couldn't help noticing some of the things about Berel were a little inaccurate, other than that its completely 4 star worthy because it was absolutely HYSTERICAL!

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Aug 30, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I received an Advanced Copy through a Goodreads Giveaway. This has, in no way, affected my review of the book.

My thoughts about this book can be summed up by three of the most simultaneously innocuous and depressing words in the book industry: not for me.

I didn't sympathize with the character (in fact, the opposite is true) and it was a big struggle to continue reading.

The immigrant storyline was intriguing but not enough to combat my dislike of Amy. She's se More...

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Dec 05, 2010

Pam rated it:

I won this book through Good reads. It was okay. Would be great for a young reader. Will enter more info when my 9th grader finishes it to give you her input.

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Aug 06, 2010

Cheryl-Lynn rated it:

A goodreads first reads win! I read the ARC so there were a few things that will probably be fixed with editing.
A fun read. I loved the last 20 or so pages- totally had me laughing. This book captures the awkwardness that is 8th grade. I couldn't really relate to Amy just because she was such a pessimist. Loved the "dream team." Unique writing- it was all written in letter (or rather e-mail) format.

6 comments like

Dec 22, 2010

Nance rated it:

The format of the letters to a friend gets one-sided and tiresome. The Character development is strong.

0 comments like

Aug 02, 2011

Pack rated it:

This was a fun read and the character matures as she realizes how other people perceive things differently than her. Page read this.

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