So Totally Emily Ebers [Hardcover]

Lisa Yee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

This companion to MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS introduces us to Emily Ebers, average girl extraordinaire, and brings Lisa Yee's funny, touching story of friendship and family full circle.

Lisa Yee charmed audiences with the hilarious MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS and revealed another side of the story in STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME. Now readers can meet Millie's best friend and Stanford's big crush! After her parents' divorce, Emily had to move to California with her mom. Now she writes letters to her rock-star dad about travel ("How did the pioneers do it? Did they have to ride with their mothers?"), her new friends, and how much she misses him -- though she does still have his credit card.... Emily Ebers may be starting over, but she's going to come out on top.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–7—It's Emily Ebers's turn to tell about the summer she meets Millicent Min and Stanford Wong, each of whom has charmed readers in earlier books. Emily, who is effervescent and enthusiastic, has her own story to tell. She's just moved to Rancho Rosetta, CA, from New Jersey after her parents' divorce. She directs a lot of anger and unhappiness against her mom, who is also reeling from the change. She writes down her thoughts and feelings in a journal for her dad, who is on the road with a revival tour of his old rock band and has sent the 12-year-old a credit card for her birthday. Emily befriends Millicent at a girls' summer volleyball league where they're the worst players. The rapport between the girls is delightful, as Millie shares her idiosyncratic take on her hometown. Emily meets Stanford and assumes that he is tutoring Millie. When she finds out that her new friends have misled her about the situation, her disappointment is palpable. As in Millicent Min, Girl Genius (2003) and Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time (2005, both Scholastic), family is vitally important. In the end, Emily patches things up with her mom and realizes that some changes can be good, even though they may not work out as expected. It's a good message for preteens, as is Emily's insistence on treating others with kindness. Although this book stands on its own, kids will get more pleasure if they read the other two first. With a baby sister on the way for Millicent Min, dare we hope for another sequel?—Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

There aren't many authors who can bring energy to the same basic story three times running, but Yee manages to do it in this companion to Millicent Min, Girl Genius (2003)and Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time (2005). Now, the ruse unfolds from the viewpoint of Millicent's new friend (and Stanford's crush) Emily, a blithe spirit prone to blind spots--whether in her dealings with Millie (whose weirdly tidy bedroom prompts praise for having "totally nailed that stark look") or in her relationship with her father, whom she adores despite his inattentiveness following her parents' divorce. The format proves less successful than Emily's faithfully evoked voice; the daily entries (a continuing letter to her incommunicado dad) record details and dialogue too precisely to ring true. But fans of the first two books will enjoy seeing how this telling expands its predecessors' take on the same events, and most readers will find something to appreciate in Emily's particular story, which tempers painful truths about divorce's repercussions with middle-grade romance and humor. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; 1St Edition edition (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439838479
• ISBN-13: 978-0439838474
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,684,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lisa's been a TV writer/producer, written labels for bean cans, and penned a speech for a president of the United States.

Her books include BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) and BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) and YA novel, ABSOLUTELY MAYBE. All are published by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic.

Other novels include the MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS, SO TOTALLY EMILY EBERS and STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME. Plus the American Girl books, GOOD LUCK, IVY, ALOHA KANANI and GOOD JOB, KANANI.

WARP SPEED, the Stanford Wong spin-off about a Star Trek geek who gets beat up everyday, debuted on March 1, 2011.

Lisa has been named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start, Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Resident, USA TODAY Critics Pick, and more. Help Lisa procrastinate at her Live Journal blog http://lisayee.livejournal.com or her myspace www.myspace.com/lisayeeblog. Or or visit her website http://lisayee.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this series, June 7, 2007

By 

Brent Hartinger (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Totally Emily Ebers (Hardcover)

Rumor has it, this series of books was not a planned one. Coulda fooled me! Each book seems to fit perfectly into the ones before it, making the whole experience richer and more interesting.

This book easily upholds the promise of the previous books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, March 21, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Totally Emily Ebers (Hardcover)

SO TOTALLY EMILY EBERS follows the adventures of eleven-year-old Emily, who has to move from Allendale, New Jersey to Rancho Rosetta, California. Since her parents are divorced, she has to move across the country with her mom, while her dad stays behind in New Jersey.

When she thinks nothing good can come out of the volleyball classes her mom signs her up for, something does. She meets Millicent Min. Millie, as she calls her, also was forced to take the lessons. Emily and Millie never run out of things to say, but when Millie lies to Emily, she starts hanging around with the popular girls. They tell her to go on a diet and give her a makeover, but that isn't the girl her mother (or her friends) knows.

Emily's mom, Alice, just wants to be a part of her daughter's life, but Emily wants to be alone, especially when Alice starts dating the town police officer. She hates her for making her leave her dad. She gets angry when she calls her dad's house and some lady answers. At first, she thinks she must have the wrong number, but suddenly she hears her dad's voice in the background. She quickly hangs up, but is sad that her parents have moved on from each other.

How will she start a new school this fall without her old friends, who called to say they were having a great time without her? Why did Millie have to lie to her? Why can't her parents just get back together? Will Emily's life ever settle down and get back to normal?

SO TOTALLY EMILY EBERS is another great read in Lisa Yee's series, following the release of Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time (Apple Signature Edition).

Reviewed by: Audrey

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Happy-Go-Lucky, May 11, 2008

By 

Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Totally Emily Ebers (Hardcover)

Lisa Yee's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, introduced readers to a prodigy who is forced to take part in a summer volleyball team. Yee followed up with two more stories, Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time and So Totally Emily Ebers, which retell that fun and eventful summer from other points of view.

Emily Ebers is a truly nice kid. After her parents got divorced, she had to move across the country with her mom, Alice. The bulk of the book is a letter to her father which fills him in on everything that goes on that summer. She tells him all about volleyball, her new friend Millie, and her crush Stanford. She misses her dad like crazy, but she eventually realizes that she and her mom have the opportunity to make a new start in their new town.

I really liked how optimistic and friendly Emily was throughout the book. She dealt with her parents' divorce and the move with some maturity, as well as natural curiosity, instead of woe-is-me angst. Emily is charming and sweet, and her story wraps up the trilogy with the smile.