Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me

by Lisa Papademetriou

Allie Kimball is excited to be starting sixth grade. Her best friend is going to be in the same school and she is going to try out for the soccer team. But she soon learns that middle school is a very different world, full of strange new beasts, like glommers--girls who never go anywhere alone--and norks-a combination of a nerd and a dork. Allie realizes its time to define herself before she gets lost in the sixth-grade jungle. Sixth Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me is a funny and poignant look at sixth-grade friendships, crushes, and trying to define yourself.

Genres: Middle Grade, School, Contemporary, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Coming Of Age, Friendship

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2005

About the author

Bestselling author Lisa Papademetriou is the author of the 'Confectionately Yours' series, 'Middle School: Big, Fat Liar' and 'Homeroom Diaries' (both with James Patterson), and many other novels for middle grade and young adult readers. Her books have appeared on the Bank Street Best Books of the Year list, the NYPL Books for the Teen Age, and the Texas Lone Star Reading List, among others. A former editor, Lisa has worked for Scholastic, HarperCollins, and DisneyPress, and holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. HarperCollins will publish her next novel, 'A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic', in October 2015.

Reviews

[Maryam · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread this book as it was one of my childhood favorites. and now i remember why i like it so much.
my rating, however, might be a little biased since this book brings out the nostalgic feels. i actually cried. don't ask me why. i don't know why. i wish i did. but i don't.

[PrincessLhala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a cute sixth grader book full of norkissshhh things! Lol!🤣

[Rebekah Rath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh!!! The book I wanted, was on hold so I decided to get a different book while I wait. So I pick up this book. It looked like a nice easy read. I decided to read it because I thought I could relate to the main character. Nope! Total opposite! She is so shy she lets her best friend walk away from her and become someone else's best friend. She is so blind she couldn't see that her friend Justin had a major crush on her! She was too busy skipping around in lala-land. Ugh! She has all of these little kid problems and the way the story's written, we are in the same grade. If I was her I would walk up to Tam and say "I thought we were best friends? Now that Renee is in your life you don't have any time for me. I'm tired of hanging around the phone waiting to see if you call. Either me or her because I'm tired of staying in a friendship when I'm doing all the work to keep it going." Then I stomp away.

[Quirkyreads100]

This book is one of those books that I take out and read whenever I can't get to sleep at night, or when I'm bored and feel like spacing out. It's a typical coming of age kind of story, but I found the characters extremely uninteresting and the plot to be, well, an overused, obvious story. Authors of these books never seem to consider that sometimes there isn't a nice group of bland, smiley friends waiting for you. Sometimes you're on your own, and you have to fend for yourself a little more. This makes middle school seem so simple. Which, at least in my experience, it isn't.

[David Allender · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cut-above the usual "friends-growing-apart" saga. Lisa Papademitriou is so deft at balancing humor and pathos that this is one of the better novels about self-discovery, identity, and belonging. Not sure what the art department was thinking with this cover (maybe trying to remind readers of LOVE, STARGIRL?) but at least it's not another photo of a girl's feet in socks.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is OK kinda hard to get into....

[Hudson .W · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and me" by Lisa Papademertriou is about a girl in sixth grade that has lots of problems. The book talks about how a girl in sixth grade has a friend that leaves her and she makes new friends that she ends liking. furthermore, the book says that she gets asked to the dance by a so called nerd and every one freaks out. Additionally, the book explains that she faces her fear and goes to the dance with him and loves it. overall, the main message is that you should get to know some one before u judge them. “But, for now, I am happy just to be Allie Kimball.” I think this is just saying that u should just be you and nobody else. I think that every one should read this book it is really good.

[Stella Avidly Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a random book but it’s a good read. It’s a children’s book so of course, it’ll have a clear moral and a happy ending. I felt like Allie was relatable and Tam was the friend we’ve all had. Renee got on my nerves which was the intent and I didn’t feel bad for her anyways so the story was communicated. I found this in one of my drawers, probably from some book fair and I decided to read it since I’m sick and I have nothing else to do. The writing is easy to read and the pacing is perfect, this is why I love children’s book, easy to read, fast paced and life lessons and morals.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sixth Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me is another middle school story about best friends moving apart and moving on, without each other. Allie Kimball and Tam want different things as they navigate the tricky waters of bullies, popular kids, sports stars, and nerds.

Tam eventually moves towards the popular, mean girl group and Allie hangs with the sports nerds. Allie knows it doesn’t move her up into the it crowd, but kindness and honesty, in the end, are more important to her.

[Samantha Real Amado · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, it was okay. It was your classic middle-school drama story. It wasn't that interesting. Also the back of the book is misleading in some ways. Also, it had an ending that didn't really wrap everything up. It is the kind of book that needs an epilogue, but it doesn't. I wouldn't recommend it.

[Taija Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was sooooo good. I love these kind of books. Drama and makeups with friendships!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book teaches the readers about sixth grade, and trying to blend in. Miss Papademetriou did a great job on telling the story of an 11 year old girl entering the world of middle school!

[Delaney]

I really liked it. Soon entering 6th grade!!

[Giorgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simpatico

[Fiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

molto emozionante

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had all the feels!!

[Eryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit, I really did enjoy this book. I absolutely love humorous books, and I certainly found that here. I didn't find it as sad as others had told me, but for some reason I really liked it.A lot more then I thought I would. Yes, this is a book about a girl with a crush drama, but that nitpick seemed to fade as I read the book.

What I also liked about this book, is that I walked away with more then I did before. This wasn't a book like 97 Ways To Make Your Dog Smile, it was just a book that had a life less on to it. Although the life lesson is sort of hard to explain, (and I don't want to spoil for others) I sort of realized more about what some things in life are really about, not just who is popular, and who is dorky. Or as the main character would have put it, "the dinosaurs and the dweebosaurs who are so boring and so unknown that they are basically extinct" or something like that.

Anyways, I absolutely loved that book and recommend it to any girls in the grades from 5th-6th grade. Maybe 7th if you like less complicated books. Overall, awesome book!

[Mamatufy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Allie, sixth-grade brings many changes, but at least she still has her best friend . . . or does she? Tamara is the cute, cool-dressing one while Allie is the tomboy soccer star. Slowly the two drift apart while Tam drifts closer to former frenemy Renee. Renee teases other kids ruthlessly and even makes mean remarks about Allie. Allie becomes more confused when Tam copies Allie's lab report and then blames Allie for getting caught. Allie learns to stick up for her new friends even though Tam and Renee call her soccer teammates Sweaty Bettys and her lab partner, Orren, a nerd. Middle school is a scary place 14girls are catty and mean, boys show off. If you do not fit in, your life can be miserable. Most middle school readers can identify with Allie and her classmates. Will they be a part of the group? Wear the right clothes? Be the class nerd? Allie is likeable as she struggles with right versus wrong, loyalty to an old friend versus meeting new ones, pursuing her values versus listening to others.

[Yohana Samayoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Sixth-Grade Glommers , Norks ,and me" talks about these two best friends and their experiences in the 6th grade. While reading this book I connected to the characters Allie and Tamara by 'text to self' because of the similarities of the 6th grade. In my opinion, the book was very interesting and I would recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction. One of the strengths of the book is when Tamara becomes friends with her arch-enemy which causes Allie to get extreamly jealouse .A weakness of the book is when Allie and Tamara go through the LFC book .The writing is very powerful because of the vocabulary and type of descriptive word used by the author. finally, this book is not a part of a series.

[Emery K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Sixth - Grade Glommers, Norks, and me is about a girl named Allie Kimball and her first year of middle school, She is no longer the oldest kid in her school she is now the baby or the new kid. Allie thinks going into the new school year will be fine because she has lots of friend but she soon discovers that she only has one class with her best friend maybe middle school is going to harder then Allie though. I thought this book was a easy read, also if you like books that relate to you then you will like this book. This book didn't really make me feel any certain way it wasn't really sad or very happy it was just not that much emotion. Overall I thought this book was a ok and a easy read.

[AshleyY_D1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me by Lisa Papademetriou seemed, overall, a relatively average book.
The protagonist, Allie, has her world turned upside down as her longtime childhood friend leaves her behind and she struggles to find her place before finding acceptance among new friends.
This book focused on the changes that people around the protagonist experience as they go through the first grade of middle school.
While the message it was trying to send (find your own place, don't always stick to old things) was touching and all, the book was overall cliché and somewhat overdone.
I would recommend this book to any 5th graders also transitioning to 6th grade, or even those that are younger.

[Kenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes you through a typical elementary to middle school transition. I loved how the author incorporated humor and suspense throughout the novel. The only problem I had with the book is that I felt like it ended too abruptly. It felt like a term paper I had to write once, but had to cut it short because it didn't fit the maximum page requirements. I can tell the author tried to cover up that she was trying to finish it early by having the main character sum up what had happened throughout the book, but it still ended fairly quickly. Overall, the book was splendid and a light and quick, easy read.

[Renna · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is not a very subjected book but is really good.... it is about a girl who goes into 6th grade... which in her state is middle school... she meets new friends and her old best friend is now a cheerleader and is really rude and has got that attitude.... she is a soccer player... JUST LIKE ME! i really enjoyed it.. i learned that just because ur friends met new friends doesnt mean it is the end of the world.. u can always meet new friends that sometimes u will understand they r even nicer then ur other

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great middle reader book. Allie is heading to sixth grade with her best friend, Tam. As the year progresses Allie and Tam drift apart and some cruelty incurs between them. It isn't over the top, but certainly indicative of what happens in junior high all too often. Allie struggles to find where she fits in and realizes it doesn't always involve easy choices.

This book would be a great suggestion for younger chapter book readers who are just starting to tackle these sort of issues. No cursing or explicit scenes, just Allie trying to figure out where she fits.

[Sarah Gradek Harger · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adorable book for middle schoolers or those soon to be middle schoolers! This book speaks so much truth about how insecure preteens are and how they make such poor choices in friends. But, being yourself is the most important thing. People will like you for who you are if they believe you are genuine. Plus, I love that lesson of don't judge a book by its cover, or its movie! Everyone, regardless of their physical appearance has quality and is worth giving a chance. ☺️. A must read for preteens!!

[W.Y. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very humorous and frighteningly accurate. Although 6th Grade for me was like, 3 years ago, but the way the author writes about the main character's experiences are just sooo scarily accurate enough that makes the book so interesting. Not to mention that it's fast-paced too, so it doesn't make the book to appear quite lengthy or boring in any sort of way. Will definitely recommend my friends and will certainly read more books by this author. Well worth reading. End of story.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'INIZIO

Il mio primissimo libro della serie "Le ragazzine", punto d'inizio della mia passione per la lettura.
La storia è semplicissima, ma adatta ad una lettrice accanita in erba, che ne è rimasta incantata al punto da leggerlo e rileggerlo.

P.S. Questo romanzo mi ricorda il mare, i cruciverba di Tom & Jerry (a cui alternavo la lettura) e i panini con prosciutto cotto e Philadelphia.

[Deanna smoak]

From this book what i learned is something like if you have a friend and you want it to stay that way forever then you can keep in very close contact. Or else someone will steal your friend just like my worst enemy where i used to live stole one of my best friends just because i moved but we still keep in close contact

[K8thegreat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I thought it began as any average book but i became hooked when Papademitriou began to show how mean the teens are. The characters are great and this is a good book for teens because it shows how things change in a split second during this stage of lid and that you have to learn to be independent sometimes.

[Tala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but I could already tell what would happen in this kind of plot. This book some what reminds of Ginger Snaps by Cathy Cassidy, except it wasn't as detailed. Over all it was a fair book, the made up words were a nice touch and I like the fact that Ali realized that Chris wasn't her dream guy after all.