Moving Day (Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Meg Cabot (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 3, 2009 | Age Range: 8 and up | Lexile Measure: 850L (What's this?)

#1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot's middle grade debut -- now in paperback!

When nine-year-old Allie Finkle's parents announce that they are moving her and her brothers from their suburban split-level into an ancient Victorian in town, Allie's sure her life is over. She's not at all happy about having to give up her pretty pink wall-to-wall carpeting for creaky floorboards and creepy secret passageways-not to mention leaving her modern, state-of-the-art suburban school for a rundown, old-fashioned school just two blocks from her new house.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. SignatureReviewed by Rachel VailIn Cabot's (the Princess Diaries) first foray into novels for kids who are still in single digits, her trademark frank humor makes for compulsive reading—as always. The first installment of a new series presents a nine-year-old girl attempting to impose rules for living on her increasingly complex world. Allie is funny, believable and plucky (of course; all girls are plucky, at least in books), but most of all, and most interestingly, Allie is ambivalent.As the book starts, Allie learns that her family is moving across town. It is a mark of Cabot's insight to understand that, to a nine-year-old, a car ride's separation from the world she has known makes that distance as vast as the universe. Allie will be enrolled in a different elementary school, and will therefore be that most hideous thing: the new kid. To make matters worse, the Finkle family will be moving to a dark, old, creaky Victorian, which, Allie becomes convinced, has a zombie hand in the attic. Moving will mean leaving behind not only her geode collection but also her best friend. And here is where the story deepens. Allie's best friend is difficult. She cries easily and always insists on getting her own way. To keep the peace, Allie makes rules for herself, often after the fact, to teach herself such important friendship truisms as Don't Shove a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat.Mary Kate is the kind of best friend anybody would want to shove a spatula down the throat of, is the thing.As Allie marshals her energies to fight the move in increasingly desperate ways, sophisticated readers may well conclude ahead of Allie that the friends she is meeting at the new school are more fun and better for her than spoiled Mary Kate and the cat-torturer, Brittany Hauser. Coming to this realization on their own, however, is part of the empowering fun. Told from the distinctive perspective of a good-hearted, impulsive, morally centered kid, this is a story that captures the conflicted feelings with which so many seemingly strong nine-year-olds struggle. Ambivalence is uncomfortable. It is also a sign of growing up. Early elementary school is all about primary colors, where rules, imposed by adults, are clear guidelines to good behavior and getting along. The more complex hues of the second half of elementary school, when complicated friendship dynamics begin to outpace the adult-imposed rules of home and school, leave many kids floundering and confused. In the character Allie Finkle, Cabot captures this moment of transition and makes it feel not just real, but also fun, and funny. Rachel Vail's forthcoming novel, Lucky (HarperTeen, May), is the start of a trilogy about three sisters.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–5—At first, nine-year-old Allie Finkle seems rather unlikable. She's hard on her best friend (who is very quick to tears) and acts bratty when her parents tell her the family will be moving. And even though she's promised a kitten, and prefers her new school and the more engaging friend she'll have next door once they move, she's determined to sabotage the event. However, the girl's worries are nuanced and age-appropriate. By the book's end Allie does show a more caring side, even though her methods are not always appreciated by the adults around her. Chapters all begin with one of Allie's rules ("Don't Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat," or "When You Finally Figure Out What the Right Thing to Do Is, You Have to Do It, Even If You Don't Want To") that, while amusing, may quickly become tiresome for some readers. With good intentions and reckless results, Allie will appeal to children who enjoyed reading about Ramona, Amber Brown, Junie B., and the other feisty girls found in beginning chapter books. This novel proves that the master of young adult popular fare is able to adapt her breezy style for a younger audience.—Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545040418
• ISBN-13: 978-0545040419
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write! Books for you, your sister, your best friend, your mother . . . . even for men with good taste!

Most of my time is spent over at my website, http://megcabot.com, so be sure to stop by!

UK, New Zealand, and Australia fans, visit http://www.megcabot.co.uk.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#60 in Books > Teens

#60 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too February 5, 2008

By TeensReadToo

Format:Hardcover

Allie Finkle, a precocious, adventurous, and outspoken nine-year-old, is on a mission. A mission to keep her parents from making the worst decision of their lives and moving her and her brothers out of their perfectly fine suburban home and into a creaky, dark, and gloomy Victorian house.

Even such incentives as a new best friend, a new school, and a kitten all her own aren't enough to convince Allie that moving may actually be fun. Because Allie has a rule for everything...and one of them is: You can't let your family move into a haunted house!

For any Meg Cabot fan in training, MOVING DAY, the first installment in the ALLIE FINKLE'S RULES FOR GIRLS series, is a must read. Working the charm that won over the teenage set, Cabot expertly brings Allie to life in this laugh-out-loud story.

A lively narrator, Allie will keep you entertained with her many exploits and her stark honesty. This is a book that Cabot readers, new and old, young and not-so-young, will all enjoy. Meg Cabot is on the fast track to the top of kids lit, with the promise of many more stories to come.

Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Madison from Lake Tapps says "A personal favorite!" March 22, 2008

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

Never be a catcher when Brittany Hauser is up to bat, you can't let your guests starve, and don't stick a spatula down you best friend's throat are three out of the many rules from the book Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls.
Allie Finkle is a spunky nine-year old girl who collects geodes, writes rules, and loves animals. Her life is going pretty well until her parents drop the big news on her. She's moving! Even with the promise from her parents to get a new kitten and there is neighbors with a nice girl her age she is still not convinced. But one thing she is convinced about is that there is a zombie hand living in her new houses attic. Once her parents tell her she is moving her life starts going down hill. Her so called "best friend" Mary Kay is no longer her best friend and when Brittany Hauser tries to get them to be friends again she ends up making it even worse then it already is. Will Allie ever be happy? Will she actually move into the "haunted house" ?
My favorite part of the book is when Allie saves a turtle at the Lung Chung restaurant from being made into turtle soup. Allie hides in the back of a car while people including the staff at the Lung Chung restaurant and her own family runs around looking for her.
I like that part the best because I love animals and if I were Allie I would probably do the same thing. Also because it was really funny.
There is only one part in the book that I didn't like. It was when Brittany played lady business executive and shoved her mother's fancy show cat into a suitcase and ran around while swinging it.
Some of the characters from this book are:

Brittany Hauser- a spoiled brat that abuses animals and throws bats.

Mary Kay Shiner- Allie's "best friend" that cries when things don't go her way.

Courtney Wilcox- a nice girl that's gets dumped by her best friend for somebody else.

Scott Stampley- A annoying boy in Allie's class that ruined her friendship with Mary Kay.

Erica Harrington- Allie's could be new best friend.

I would recommend this book to girls about the ages of 11-14. It was really good and I could not put it down. I know others would feel the same way if they read this book and maybe be able to relate to Allie like I did!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Allie Finkle is the funniest fourth grader in children's lit! February 27, 2008

By Erika Sorocco

Format:Hardcover

Nine-year-old Allie Finkle is seriously contemplating dumping her current best friend, Mary Kay, after an incident involving sticking a spatula down the crybaby Mary Kay's throat - on accident - occurs. Instead, she decides to create a book full of rules that she'd like to find a way to abide by in her life. But just a few rules in, Allie finds out that she's moving away, and realizes that everything is going to change - and not for the better.

Allie Finkle's life is absolutely perfect. Sure, she doesn't have her own pet, and must share the family dog with four other people; but sharing is better than nothing. Besides, she has the best fourth grade teacher in the entire world - Ms. Myers - and even though she's forced to put up with Scott Stamphley, crybaby Mary Kay, and bat thrower Brittany Hauser on a daily basis, the mere presence of Ms. Myers sets her mind at ease. That is, until the day she learns that she's moving to a spooky old Victorian, forcing her to leave her current classroom - and bedroom - and take up residence in the haunted fixer upper. At this point, Allie is quite positive that her parents have lost their minds. Just because her family suddenly has more money - thanks to her mom's new job and her father's new promotion - doesn't mean that you should be forced to pick up your stuff and relocate - even if it's just a few blocks away. Besides, by doing so she's allowing her family to break one of her cardinal rules - "you can't let your family move into a haunted house." The new house does have it's positives, living right around the corner from Dairy Queen being one of them; having a cool girl named Erica living right next door another; and getting a kitten of your very own just the perfect way to finish off the list. But the fact that she's forced to get rid of her geode collection is enough to burst anyone's bubble. Allie is convinced that she'll find a way to change her parent's minds before it's too late. But if she's not careful, she may just cause Ms. Myers' entire fourth grade class, and the annoying real estate agent, to hate her with a blood-boiling passion in the process.

Over the years, I have begun to look to Meg Cabot as a close, personal friend in the literature world. Her characters are always so relatable, and manage to get a reader through the toughest times in life. Now, after spending so much time in the young adult and adult genres, however, Cabot has set her sights on conquering the middle reader division, and proves that she's fully capable of doing so. Allie Finkle is your typical girl-next-door, with a little spunk mixed in. Her fiery passion for animal rights and liberation is humorous; while her honesty is downright respectable. The fact that she doesn't let anyone keep her, or her ideas, caged is empowering - as is her strong voice. From page one Allie's personality draws you in, and refuses to release you until the last page is turned. Much like Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume before her, Cabot has taken over the middle reader genre with a vengeance, leaving you craving more. Allie Finkle is the funniest fourth grader in children's lit!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer