Customer Reviews

So Totally Emily Ebers

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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.

Lisa Yee's SO TOTALLY EMILY EBERS is an adorable, fun read written in diary style format. The book tackles realistic issues that affect tweens and it was a page turner from start to finish.

As a mother who screens everything her 11-year-old daughter reads, I tend to roll my eyes when yet another book about tween angst catches her eye at the Book Fair and she wants me to get it for our home library. So when I was persuaded to pay for "Millicent Min, Girl Genius" by Lisa Yee, that being the author's debut novel, I wasn't expecting much - but I was pleasantly surprised by how un-typical this (as it turned out to be) series is. It is SO CLEVER!

"So Totally Emily Ebers" is the third book in this trilogy, which chronicles the same story from three different viewpoints: Millicent's, Stanford's - and now Emily's. While, yes, there are some parts of "So Totally Emily Ebers" where Emily's concerns are a little more precocious than I would want my daughter to have, it doesn't trouble me the same way that the "Winnie Years" series by Lauren Myracle does. Most importantly, it is very clear how a-typical Millicent, Stanford and Emily are from the average kid right from the start - and while they may suffer the same angst facing kids growing up in American middle schools, the message said daughter gets from this series is that there are many different types of people in the world, and they all see the same things differently - and said daughter has her own path to follow. While said daughter may relate to some of the issues faced by Emily (and Millicent and Stanford), I did not sense that the author is attempting to persuade anyone of the correct way to react to those issues. Below is how said daughter found "So Totally Emily Ebers", in her own words:

"The book 'So Totally Emily Ebers' is a great book to read during the summer. When Emily's mom and dad get a divorce, Emily is sure her life is ending. The message becomes even clearer when Emily has to move to California, and then she and her mom have a fight that lasts the whole summer. Luckily, Emily, who records her days in a diary for her dad, meets Millicent Min, Girl Genius, and Stanford Wong - her first huge crush. Unluckily, they lie to her and Emily finds out her dad is already dating - only six months after divorcing her mom.

"My favorite part was when Emily and Millicent go to Stanford's HeeHaw game and Millie gives Tico (a small boy with a big smile) a 6 in cuteness rating, because it was the highest she ever gave anyone. I rate this 10 stars on a 5-star scale!"

I did not enjoy Stanford and Emily's books as much as I did Millicent's but Millicent's is one of the best books I've ever read. These are easier reads than Millicent which is on an adult level. Very creative to tell the same story from 3 points of view. Will definately buy all her books.

Lisa Yee's SO TOTALLY EMILY EBERS is presented in the form of Emily's letters to her father and chart a move to California and a series of ideas and impressions on life, friendship, romance and divorce. It's a winning story of coming of age and coping with a new family and social life and the format and chatty style will involve young adults in a fine leisure choice.