This was one of the least interesting of Clements' school stories. It's about a twelve-year-old girl, Natalie, who writes a novel and tries to get it published under a pen name so that the editor won't realize that the author is her own daughter.

To follow and enjoy the story, you need to believe that a 12-year-old can write a novel that is not only good enough to be published, but solid gold. When she asks her English teacher Mrs. Clayton for help, Clayton praises it and tells her to publish it without making even a single correction or revision. One the one hand, she's just getting the hang of this literacy thing. On the other hand, her novel is perfect. This was so absurd that it interfered with my enjoyment of the book.

Furthermore, the plot is fairly simple, straightforward, not very sophisticated, and contains no unexpected twists or complications. Once the story starts, you know where it's going, and you can predict it all too easily. Also, the story lulls in several places. Overall, it's a bore.

I'm a fan of Andrew Clements, but I don't recommend this one unless you insist on reading everything of his and have read all the rest.