That's Life, Samara Brooks

by Daniel Ehrenhaft

"FUNNY! I'm officially jealous."--Gordon Korman, author of ONE FALSE NOTE

Is playing blackjack in the school cafeteria that bad? Samara Brooks doesn't think so. She isn't out to hurt anybody. She just wants to create some drama. And she does. Drama . . . and trouble.

When the principal threatens to call her parents, Samara proposes a way to save herself. She'll prove she's not a bad person by conducting a scientific experiment to show she has the same DNA as one of the friendliest girls in  class president Lily Frederick.   But then Nathan Weiss—a kid obsessed with UFOs and mysterious codes, gets involved. And things get really weird. . . .

"If you like your mystery with a side of science and some delightful snark, you're in the right place," says New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray. And Leslie Margolis, author of Girls Acting Catty and Boys Are Dogs says, "Hilarious, wacky and charming."


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult

224 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Daniel Ehrenhaft is the author of several dozen books for children and young adults—so many books, in fact, that he has lost count. He has often written under the pseudonym Daniel Parker (his middle name, which is easier to spell and pronounce than his last), and occasionally Erin Haft. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Jessica, as well as a scruffy dog named Gibby and a psychotic cat named Bootsy. When he isn't writing, he tirelessly travels the globe on a doomed mission to achieve rock stardom. As of this date, his musical credits include the composition of bluegrass soundtrack numbers for the epic straight-to-video B movie The Grave, a brief stint playing live rap music to baffled Filipino audiences in Hong Kong, and scoring the still-picture montage Election Trip. He once worked in a cheese shop. He was fired.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samara Brooks, eighth grade math wiz and con artist, decides to start a black jack ring in the cafeteria during lunch time. Despite her flyers being taken down very quickly, she is joined by the class president(Lily Frederick), the school science wiz and UFO expert (Nathan Weiss), and several other students looking to make a few dollars.

When her ring is busted by the principal, Samara comes up with a clever way to get her out of trouble and finally use the "fabulous electron microscope" that was given to her school. Samara makes an amazing discovery while using the microscope which places her and her friends at the top of the suspect list when a crime is committed.

The book is very cleverly written. I love Samara's humor, but the ending just left me feeling blah. I wanted more action at the end or at least to find out what the discovery really meant. Unfortunately the author leaves you wondering. If you like that kind of book, pick this up.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samara Brooks is quite open about being a con. When she is busted at school for running a casino, she convinces the principal to use the school's electron microscope to prove that her DNA and that of the class president, Lily, are the same. When Nathan sees an eye pattern in her DNA that matches the pattern on the Phaistos Disk and the Voynitch Manuscript, he sees the possiblity of aliens. Lily attends the Church of the Shepherd with her aunt. This book is fast paced and very funny. The kids work to solve the mystery of who stole the film from the microscope and end up solving more than one mystery. The alternating narratives help fill in the gaps and give the reader more insight into the characters.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samara Brooks is an intelligent young lady who, in following her parent's advice, starts a gambling ring to fit in at school. When she's busted by the principle, con artist Samara convinces him to let her do a special experiment. Only, the results were not what she bargained for.

This was a cute entertaining read. Told in multiple voices the main characters are each unique in their voices and belief systems. Also, the work tiptoes to the line of magical realism.

I debated between giving this book a 3 or a 4 and ultimately decided on 3-stars because the ending left me wanting something else. I'm not exactly sure what, but I wasn't completely satisfied. A good read for grades 5-7.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this might work as a math link novel- I am always looking for that. It turned into a Chariots of the God's type book featuring alien codes. - a trio of kids get together to solve a school break in for which that are the prime suspects the book has sort of a buddy movie feel as the kids follow hunches and clues to the culprit. There is a bit about adoption thrown in as well.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first my initial thoughts on this book were that it was for a younger reader. Then, as I continued reading, I found that the bit of mystery that was incorporated made it a more enjoyable read. Who would have thought it would turn out the way it did? An easy read.

[Annalissa]

It's okay...

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story and cute ending! kinda short and confusing but was still really good!

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

not great.

[Polly ? · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Summer Read