Not That I Care (Friendship Ring) [Hardcover]

Rachel Vail (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Friendship Ring (Book 3)

Tough but often misunderstood, Morgan Miller struggles to come to grips with the fact that her best friend just dumped her.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-Part of a series about four seventh graders, this book highlights Morgan Miller, who wants to curl up and sink through the floor rather than give a presentation in English class. For the assignment, she has gathered 10 items into a sack and now must explain why each one identifies who she is. While she waits her turn, she thinks about the significance of each object, recalling the events they represent. Readers find out that her father left her family to pursue an acting career, why she had to stop taking ballet, and how her friendship with CJ began. Just that morning, Morgan had a falling out with CJ and now she feels isolated; all she has left is her brother and her angry mother. Because she no longer knows who she is, the items no longer have any meaning. How can she survive the sack project? Alternating between the present and past, Vail successfully captures the intense, minute-to-minute insecurities of middle-school life. Her gritty, terse prose and complex characters keep readers engrossed. The questions of what makes a friend, why some families seem more perfect than others, and how to be true to yourself make for an appealing story line. Readers will cry with the protagonist and sympathize with her problems. Fans of Judy Blume's Just as Long as We're Together (1987) and Here's to You, Rachel Robinson (1993, both Orchard) will enjoy Morgan's view of her world.
Linda Bindner, formerly at Athens Clarke County Library, GA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

paper 0-590-37453-2 Prickly, unlovable Morgan narrates the third book in Vail's Friendship Ring trilogy (If You Only Knew,1998, not reviewed), presenting what amounts to an autobiography in flashback as she waits nervously to be called on in class . The assignment for seventh-grade Creative Writing was to bring ten self-defining items to class in a paper bag; too late, Morgan realizes that she will have to explain each item's meaning. She has gathered tokens of embarrassingly personal meaning: a St . Christopher medal, a spatula, a Barbie doll's head, a box of candy, a twig, and more. Every one recalls a seismic incident in her life, from her father's departure to shifts in her relationships with friends, boys, and her mother; everyone gives readers a key to unlocking Morgan's tough defenses to reveal the vulnerability beneath. For all her anger and mean behavior, she doesn't lack for courage, and in the end acquits herself well enough in front of friends and classmates to earn a rare nod of approva l from a fearsomely demanding teacher. Readers drawn by the previous books, or the series' eye catching, CD-size format, won't exactly like Morgan, but they will end up admiring her. (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590034766
• ISBN-13: 978-0590034760
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,579,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good!, February 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Not That I Care (Friendship Ring) (Paperback)

This was the first book I read in the series and one of the best. Morgan seems very vonerable and I can see why she acts the way she does. {*5*}! In the other books she's totally different, rough and tough. I liked her character best in Not That I Care. I liked that she told about her life so far and about her parents breaking up. You should read this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ,HONEST!, October 7, 1999

By 

Kitty kat rock! ([e-mail]) (united states) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not That I Care (Friendship Ring) (Paperback)

I Loved this book.Morgan is just like me.She has the same feelings and thoughts.I think that anyone around 11-13 would love this book.It was sooooo cool!I have also read what are friends for and that was great too.They are the coolest books and I hope that Rachel Vail comes out with some more-by the way do any of you know that #5 is coming out,it's called Popularity conest.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book and the rest of this seris are the best ever!, April 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Not That I Care (Friendship Ring) (Paperback)

This seris was the best I have ever read. I have read all of them exept for the one by Oliva because that one wasn't at the Library. These books are realistic, and it makes you feel like you are really in the book experiencing everything that happens to the characters. Also, you read a story written by one girl and then she is mentioned in all the other books with a different view point. I loved it and recommend it alot