Note: I purchased a used copy of this book, and did not realize that it was the sequel to another book. I am rating and reviewing this book as a solo work, as I have not read its prequel.
Synopsis: Life isn't easy for thirteen-year-old Edie Snow. Having skipped a grade, she's the youngest kid in her new high school. Nothing is going right for Edie - she has a serious shortage of cool clothes, her friends all seem to abandon her on her first day of school, and her own family doesn't even understand her. Add to that a sister who's acting crazy, a boy friend who wants to be a boyfriend, and a mortifying nickname, and it's about as much as one girl can bear. To make matters worse, her mom is making her to walk her cousin Merry, who has Down syndrome, home from school every day.
Edie figures she can make new friends and get out of walking Merry home by joining the school play, but putting on an ambitious musical production of Shakespeare's King Lear only ends up alienating her further from her schoolmates when she becomes the bossy, know-it-all trying to run the whole production. With the musical on the brink of disaster, and her main characters ready to quit at a moment's notice, Edie realizes that if she doesn't find some help - fast - it'll be curtains for her play... and her social life. Luckily for her there is Regan (coincidentally the same name as one of the characters in Lear), who may just save the day... until her parents want Merry to join the production as well.
My thoughts: This was a cute book, but the ending had me kind of scratching my head. It was clear to see the transformation in Edie throughout the book, from an immature and sort of awful human being to a more kind and compassionate person. I get that this book would be great for kids, and does have a message of learning to love and respect, but I still think that the book (especially the end) felt rushed. Months would pass with absolutely no mention of anything that was going on, and just a brief explanation of what was happening.
One character that didn't sit well with me was David. He was never really formerly introduced, or described, or built up. He was just sort of there, hanging around, making jokes that weren't really all that funny. But hey, that's just my opinion.
I also could have done without the Robert-Dex-Edie love thing... Dex is far more likely to have a boyfriend that poor little 13 year old Edie... again, that's just my opinion, but 13 seems a bit young.
Anyways, overall I would give this 3.5 stars, but since Goodreads won't let me give half stars, I guess I am stuck assigning it a 3 star rating, for mild inappropriate-ness and the lack of a truly clear resolution at the end of the book.