Starting School with an Enemy [Paperback]

Elisa Carbone (Author), Mary GrandPre (Author), Tim Barnes (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Author Elisa Carbone bursts onto the middle-grade scene with a laugh-out-loud story of a girl who tackles life head-on. Ten-year-old Sarah definitely has an attitude. But who can blame her? Her family dragged her along on their move from Maine to Maryland, she's left her best friend behind, and the first kid her age she meets calls her a "sick-o." What did she do? All Sarah really wants is to make a good friend. But just as it looks as if she might find one in fast-talking, soccer-playing Christina Perez, Sarah's newfound enemy launches a crusade to make her life miserable. And Sarah can't stop herself from getting revenge--even though it threatens her new friendship.Lots of laughs and spunky characters abound in this totally entertaining middle-grade novel, reminiscent in style to those of Barbara Park and Judy Blume. Sarah's witty observations and trouble making antics make for fun reading, and readers--even reluctant ones--will cheer as she finds an inventive solution to her "enemy" problem.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Look, everybody, Sarah wet her pants!" He shouted it like he was Paul Revere or something.

I could feel my face flush hot pink. "Shut up, you creep!" I was so mad! I wanted to shove his head into a pothole.

Sarah's first few days of fifth grade aren't going too well. She manages to run down the little brother of school bully Eric Bardo with her bicycle; she lies to the friend she likes the best; she "borrows" a basketball from her teacher's private supply cabinet to prove herself to her new schoolmates; and, with all her childish acts of revenge against Eric (including inserting wriggling larvae into his sandwich), manages to spend a large chunk of her lunches and recesses in detention. In the process, she is chastised by her new teacher--and her parents, who deliver the "Staying Out of Trouble at School" as well as the "Walking Away from Conflict" lecture. Perhaps worst of all, she gets the cold shoulder from her new friend Christina Perez, who doesn't appreciate her lies, or her "eye for an eye" attitude towards her tiresomely taunting tormentor.

Sarah is no angel--she's flip and sarcastic, none too sensitive, and her logic is certainly skewed. (Not getting caught is equivalent to staying out of trouble, for example.) Still, thanks to wiser souls around her--including her teenage brother and her new best friend--she learns many valuable lessons about friendship, loyalty, and how to diffuse, and thereby dissolve, the continued attacks of bullies. Elisa Carbone--creator of Corey's Story: Her Family's Secret--has a knack for using a light hand to help young people cope with dilemmas as they grow up. Starting School with an Enemy is a funny, spirited collection of wisdom (and comic relief) for any kid who's ever been teased. (Ages 9 to 12) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A new girl stands up to the class bully after a major misunderstanding. In a starred review, PW said, "Carbone shapes characters with such lifelike dimension and through conversation so true that her story is at once comfortably familiar and entirely novel." Ages 8-12. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 103 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679886400
• ISBN-13: 978-0679886402
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dealing with enemies is an important skill., October 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Starting School with an Enemy (Alfred A.Knopf Books for Young Readers) (Hardcover)

Sarah is reluctantly new to the neighborhood. While trying to help a young boy she inadvertently makes an enemy of his older brother who is a grade ahead of her in the new school she will start in September. As he tries to make her life as miserable as only a bully can, she explores various ways to deal with this pressure with hilarious and sometimes painful results. The story is often hilarious, poignantly realistic, and has a uniquely satisfying conclusion. It belongs in every classroom library and is an excellent read aloud book to begin the school year. It was very well received by my Grade six class.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars starting school with an enemy review, January 14, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Starting School with an Enemy (Paperback)

I read Starting School With An Enemy.

I thought it was an excellent because a girl named Sara and her family move to Maryland. Sara doesn't like it in Maryland. Later a little kid was riding his bike in the road and she tries to save him. His brother saw the whole thing, and yelled at her. In school with her friend Christina they saw Eric. More in the story Eric said to Sara she is dead meat. When Sara was walking Eric and his friends jumped out with water gun, but Sara thought they were real guns! Later Sara and Christian took pictures and they were friends forever.

I think kids 8 years old would enjoy this book.

I recommend this book because it is a really good book.

5.0 out of 5 stars good book, September 25, 2010

By 

st139 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Starting School with an Enemy (Paperback)

Book was in good shape. Shipping was not too quick but also not too slow. Sort of in the middle. Would recommend this book, especially for 4th-5th graders.