By Kate Beasley
Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
4Rbooks 3/6 grades 4-6
Amazon 4.5/5 grades 4-6
Goodreads 3.90
Common Sense Media 4/5, ages 9+
Synopsis
Gertie is on a mission. She is going to become the greatest fifth grader of all time. Then she will confront her mom, who left her when she was a baby, and prove that she is fine without her. This becomes especially important when she learns that her mother is getting remarried and moving away.
Gertie’s friends Junior and Jean are willing to help, but there’s a new girl, Mary Sue, who is going to be a roadblock to her plans. Mary Sue’s father is a Hollywood director working with a popular young star. This brings Mary Sue instant attention, at the expense of Gertie. They soon become rivals.
As Gertie works harder and harder to make her plans work, she inadvertently makes herself an outcast with her classmates. She hopes that getting the lead role in a school play, over Mary Sue, will finally bring her the greatness she desires, and give her mother a reason to connect and come to the show.
Parental Guidelines
Gertie’s great-aunt sends her to school every day with “Give ‘em hell, baby!”
Gerties repeatedly says, “Good Lord,” or “Oh my Lord.”
A conceited person is describe as having their nose so far in the air they can smell angel farts.
Gertie is bullied by many of her classmates with pranks and verbal smack, especially centered around a “save the planet” club which targets Gertie because her dad works on an oil rig.
Gertie’s biological mother abandoned her and her father when she was a baby. Even though her mother only lives 3 miles away, she makes no attempt to contact Gertie, even after they see each other in town.
Gertie's aunt makes her go to church every Sunday. Gertie isn't thrilled.
Recommendation
As I was reading this book, I kept wondering why I didn’t like it more. I finally realized that it was because the main character, Gertie, isn’t that likeable. I understand that she’s only 10 and you feel for her and the emotions she is working through about her mom, but she’s very self-centered and not always nice to her friends and classmates. Things work out between her and her friends by the end of the story, but she needed to make smarter choices.
There are three relationships that dominate the story: Gertie and her mother, Gertie and Mary Sue (the new girl), and Gertie and her family. Another problem with the book is that there is never a clear explanation as to why Gertie’s mother makes no contact with her, even though they only live three miles apart. It is also never clear why Mary Sue decided Gertie was the class leader and the one Mary Sue needed to target. The relationships between Gertie and her father and Great Aunt are positive, but again, she’s not always nice and respectful to them.
It is a bittersweet story overall. You want to feel sympathy for Gertie, but then she gets involved in her newest plan without considering the consequences on others, and you don’t feel sorry for her anymore.
This would be a good addition to a classroom library, but I don’t think there would be much use for it as a class read or group read.
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