Hundred Percent

Description

Christine Gouda's nickname Tink doesn't work anymore. But what name does she want to go by? Tink's sixth grade year - her final year in elementary school - is full of cringingly painful trials in normalcy: uncomfortable Halloween costumes, premature sleepover parties, crushed crushes, and changing friendships. Through it all, Tink's voice rings with profound authenticity and utter novelty as she comes to realize that what you call yourself, and how you do it, has a lot to do with who you are. Beloved author Karen Romano Young has written a heartbreakingly honest account of what it means to be between girl and woman, elementary and middle school, inside and out - and the complications that come with naming.

Karen Romano Young is a writer, illustrator, and science journalist. She has written close to two dozen books for children, and has illustrated several, including the groundbreaking graphic novel Doodlebug and its sequel Stuck in the Middle (Of Middle School). Karen's acclaimed science books include Small Worlds, Across the Wide Ocean, and Bug Science. She is the creator of a science comic called Humanimal Doodles, and a veteran of three ocean science research voyages, including dives to the bottom of the ocean. Karen's novels include Cobwebs and The Beetle and Me: A Love Story, which earned her a Flying Start in Publishers Weekly and numerous honors. Karen lives in the Connecticut woods with her husband and two large fluffy dogs. To see more of Karen's work, please visit her web site, www.karenromanoyoung.com

A lovely, lovely tale full of warmth, humor, and intelligence.-Kirkus Reviews, starred review A wonderfully perceptive, humorous middle grade story about defining oneself when everything is suddenly awkward.--Kid Lit Reviews Hundred Percent is a brilliant and irresistible book about the sharp pains and joys of real life. Karen Romano Young is a writer like no other. She always finds the truest, most interesting paths to the heart.-Rebecca Stead, Newbery Award-winning author of When You Reach Me Karen Romano Young has an unerring feel for the shifting alliances and uncomfortable intrigues of sixth graders. The voices are unique and the dialogue sparkles. Your heart will crack open as the cast of characters tries on one personality after the other, hoping to find the one that fits. -Ellen Wittlinger, Printz Honor-winning author of Hard Love Karen Romano Young must be twelve. There's no other way she can possibly know what she knows about sixth grade in all its weirdness and glory. Seen and felt and conveyed with unbelievable freshness and acuity, Hundred Percent handily performs the almost-impossible feat of offering its readers a mirror to their lives without gloom or condescension.-Annie Barrows, New York Times bestselling author of the Ivy Bean series Perfectly captures the emotions of middle schoolers and their evolving friendships and familial relationships.-School Library Journal, starred review Romano's characters jump off the page in a thoughtful and realistic look at what it means to be on the precipice of adolescence.-Publishers Weekly This charming book sings for any girl who doubts herself as she leaves her childhood behind.--Houston Family A spot-on depiction of that middle school knife-edge where things can go from thrilling to mortifying in a nanosecond.-School Library Connection An unflinching look at a girl's first steps into self-consciousness, in every sense of that word. Readers will see themselves in Tink and find a measure of hope.--The New York Times Honest about the timeless ins and outs (and in-jokes) of sixth-grade dynamics.-The Horn Book Magazine Readers will cheer for the sensitive, brave, fierce Tink as she tries to discover, and ultimately honor, herself.--Shelf Awareness for Readers, starred review Sensitively portrays the way so many tweens run, stumble, and drag their feet toward adulthood.--Common Sense Media Young evokes the joys and pains of being in sixth grade.-VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates