The Pity Party: 8th Grade in the Life of Me, Cass [Paperback]

Alison Pollet (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: The Pity Party

In its paperback debut, the sequel to Alison Pollet's NOBODY WAS HERE follows quick-witted Cass Levin, through the rugged terrain of 8th grade at New York City's Elston Prep.

When eighth grade begins, Cass feels like the entire school is out to get her. She's stuck in classes without her closest friends Penelope and Tillie to keep her company. And as if that weren't bad enough, this is the year that students take an extended field trip to Elston Prep's nature retreat in the countryside.
Cass confronts her problems with spirited resilience, and she forges an unexpected friendship with Rod Punkin, the school's biggest behavior problem. When Rod goes missing, Cass embarks on a secret rescue mission in this funny, witty, and utterly moving story about being thirteen.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–In this sequel to Nobody Was Here (Scholastic, 2004), readers get to know Penelope Schwartzbaum's friend Cass better. Orphaned when she was eight, she lives with her beloved guardian, Bea, and attends a New York City private school. Cass is devastated when she discovers that she does not have classes with her two best friends. While she is at first horrified that troublemaker Rod Punkin sits behind her in English class, the two eventually develop a friendship, and she begins to understand herself and why he is the way he is. She is able to come to terms with her parents' death, accept the benefits of counseling, and gain a sense of belonging. Inventive details, such as Cass's word lists, the comforting rhyming games she remembers playing with her mother, and the warm support of her art-collecting guardian and psychoanalyst aunt make this a first-rate purchase. Multilayered characters inhabit this complex, thoughtful book that beautifully hones in on middle-school friendships.–Debbie Stewart Hoskins, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439681952
• ISBN-13: 978-0439681957
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,151,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, August 15, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Pity Party: 8th Grade in the Life of Me, Cass (Pity Party, The) (Hardcover)

This is a great book!!!!! I also like pollet's other book Nobody was here.....Both books really tell the humors and drama of middle schoolers