Moving Day (Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls #1)
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

Nine-year-old Allie faces her world with humor and common sense by making a list of rules to live by. Each rule (often presented as a chapter heading) has a story behind it. Rule # 1: Don't Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat evolves from the terrible fight between Allie and wimpy, weepy Mary Kay. Other rules come about after Allie finds out that the family is moving across town to a creepy Victorian house (she tries her best to sabotage the plans). A prize cat, a stolen turtle, two younger brothers, and a willing coconspirator  in the form of an uncle all play a part in the antics as adventures unfold. Lively Allie is an appealing heroine who has an uncanny knack for getting into (and out of) scrapes with friends and family. The talented Cabot, popular with both teen and adult readers, will attract a new, younger audience with this novel, which will surely leave readers looking forward to future installments. One note: the fold-out-to-poster-size dust jacket may pose a problem for libraries. Look for a review of the audiobook version on p. 124.--Williams, Bina Copyright 2008 Booklist

In Cabot's (the Princess Diaries) first foray into novels for kids who are still in single digits, her trademark frank humor makes for compulsive reading-as always. The first installment of a new series presents a nine-year-old girl attempting to impose rules for living on her increasingly complex world. Allie is funny, believable and plucky (of course; all girls are plucky, at least in books), but most of all, and most interestingly, Allie is ambivalent. As the book starts, Allie learns that her family is moving across town. It is a mark of Cabot's insight to understand that, to a nine-year-old, a car ride's separation from the world she has known makes that distance as vast as the universe. Allie will be enrolled in a different elementary school, and will therefore be that most hideous thing: the new kid. To make matters worse, the Finkle family will be moving to a dark, old, creaky Victorian, which, Allie becomes convinced, has a zombie hand in the attic. Moving will mean leaving behind not only her geode collection but also her best friend. And here is where the story deepens. Allie's best friend is difficult. She cries easily and always insists on getting her own way. To keep the peace, Allie makes rules for herself, often after the fact, to teach herself such important friendship truisms as Don't Shove a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat. Mary Kate is the kind of best friend anybody would want to shove a spatula down the throat of, is the thing. As Allie marshals her energies to fight the move in increasingly desperate ways, sophisticated readers may well conclude ahead of Allie that the friends she is meeting at the new school are more fun and better for her than spoiled Mary Kate and the cat-torturer, Brittany Hauser. Coming to this realization on their own, however, is part of the empowering fun. Told from the distinctive perspective of a good-hearted, impulsive, morally centered kid, this is a story that captures the conflicted feelings with which so many seemingly strong nine-year-olds struggle. Ambivalence is uncomfortable. It is also a sign of growing up. Early elementary school is all about primary colors, where rules, imposed by adults, are clear guidelines to good behavior and getting along. The more complex hues of the second half of elementary school, when complicated friendship dynamics begin to outpace the adult-imposed rules of home and school, leave many kids floundering and confused. In the character Allie Finkle, Cabot captures this moment of transition and makes it feel not just real, but also fun, and funny. Rachel Vail's forthcoming novel, Lucky (HarperTeen, May), is the start of a trilogy about three sisters. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 3-5-At first, nine-year-old Allie Finkle seems rather unlikable. She's hard on her best friend (who is very quick to tears) and acts bratty when her parents tell her the family will be moving. And even though she's promised a kitten, and prefers her new school and the more engaging friend she'll have next door once they move, she's determined to sabotage the event. However, the girl's worries are nuanced and age-appropriate. By the book's end Allie does show a more caring side, even though her methods are not always appreciated by the adults around her. Chapters all begin with one of Allie's rules ("Don't Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat," or "When You Finally Figure Out What the Right Thing to Do Is, You Have to Do It, Even If You Don't Want To") that, while amusing, may quickly become tiresome for some readers. With good intentions and reckless results, Allie will appeal to children who enjoyed reading about Ramona, Amber Brown, Junie B., and the other feisty girls found in beginning chapter books. This novel proves that the master of young adult popular fare is able to adapt her breezy style for a younger audience.-Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Nine-year-old Allie Finkle keeps a list of rules; she likes their predictability. But sometimes knowing the rules doesn't help--for example, when your best friend cries too much and when your parents decide to leave your nice, normal house to fix up an old, spooky Victorian across town. A breezy writing style and spirited leading lady help buoy the story. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Like every other kid lately, nine-year-old Allie Finkle is developing her list of rules for friendships, school situations, family and overall life. Dos and don'ts for any newly minted tween can get pretty complicated when an already unsettling relationship with a so-called best friend is augmented by one's parents' decision to sell their comfortable suburban dwelling and move to an un-renovated Victorian-style, 100-year-old gloomy and possibly haunted house in the city. And, what about the new (really old and crowded) school and a fourth grade filled with unfriendly faces? Allie is stressed but decides to take charge by hatching a scheme to prevent the sale of her suburban house and thus, the move. Cabot's endearing, funny and clever protagonist will have readers simultaneously chuckling and commiserating as succeeding chapters introduce individual "rules" for Allie to contemplate and accept. Lessons on friendship and fickleness, sneaky behavior, lying, animal cruelty and theft (although paying for a "rescued" pet turtle that was never for sale may raise some eyebrows) merge to create a humorous and heartwarming story. Allie's first-person voice is completely believable with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek wit. Despite the now-overdone rules concept, readers will eagerly await Allie's next installment in her new home, school and neighborhood. (Fiction. 8-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Nine-year-old Allie faces her world with humor and common sense by making a list of rules to live by. Each rule (often presented as a chapter heading) has a story behind it. Rule # 1: Don't Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat evolves from the terrible fight between Allie and wimpy, weepy Mary Kay. Other rules come about after Allie finds out that the family is moving across town to a creepy Victorian house (she tries her best to sabotage the plans). A prize cat, a stolen turtle, two younger brothers, and a willing coconspirator  in the form of an uncle all play a part in the antics as adventures unfold. Lively Allie is an appealing heroine who has an uncanny knack for getting into (and out of) scrapes with friends and family. The talented Cabot, popular with both teen and adult readers, will attract a new, younger audience with this novel, which will surely leave readers looking forward to future installments. One note: the fold-out-to-poster-size dust jacket may pose a problem for libraries. Look for a review of the audiobook version on p. 124. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.

Signature

Reviewed by Rachel Vail

In Cabot's (the Princess Diaries) first foray into novels for kids who are still in single digits, her trademark frank humor makes for compulsive reading—as always. The first installment of a new series presents a nine-year-old girl attempting to impose rules for living on her increasingly complex world. Allie is funny, believable and plucky (of course; all girls are plucky, at least in books), but most of all, and most interestingly, Allie is ambivalent.

As the book starts, Allie learns that her family is moving across town. It is a mark of Cabot's insight to understand that, to a nine-year-old, a car ride's separation from the world she has known makes that distance as vast as the universe. Allie will be enrolled in a different elementary school, and will therefore be that most hideous thing: the new kid. To make matters worse, the Finkle family will be moving to a dark, old, creaky Victorian, which, Allie becomes convinced, has a zombie hand in the attic. Moving will mean leaving behind not only her geode collection but also her best friend. And here is where the story deepens. Allie's best friend is difficult. She cries easily and always insists on getting her own way. To keep the peace, Allie makes rules for herself, often after the fact, to teach herself such important friendship truisms as Don't Shove a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat.

Mary Kate is the kind of best friend anybody would want to shove a spatula down the throat of, is the thing.

As Allie marshals her energies to fight the move in increasingly desperate ways, sophisticated readers may well conclude ahead of Allie that the friends she is meeting at the new school are more fun and better for her than spoiled Mary Kate and the cat-torturer, Brittany Hauser. Coming to this realization on their own, however, is part of the empowering fun. Told from the distinctive perspective of a good-hearted, impulsive, morally centered kid, this is a story that captures the conflicted feelings with which so many seemingly strong nine-year-olds struggle.

Ambivalence is uncomfortable. It is also a sign of growing up.

Early elementary school is all about primary colors, where rules, imposed by adults, are clear guidelines to good behavior and getting along. The more complex hues of the second half of elementary school, when complicated friendship dynamics begin to outpace the adult-imposed rules of home and school, leave many kids floundering and confused. In the character Allie Finkle, Cabot captures this moment of transition and makes it feel not just real, but also fun, and funny.

Rachel Vail's forthcoming novel, Lucky (HarperTeen, May), is the start of a trilogy about three sisters.

Gr 3–5— At first, nine-year-old Allie Finkle seems rather unlikable. She's hard on her best friend (who is very quick to tears) and acts bratty when her parents tell her the family will be moving. And even though she's promised a kitten, and prefers her new school and the more engaging friend she'll have next door once they move, she's determined to sabotage the event. However, the girl's worries are nuanced and age-appropriate. By the book's end Allie does show a more caring side, even though her methods are not always appreciated by the adults around her. Chapters all begin with one of Allie's rules ("Don't Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat," or "When You Finally Figure Out What the Right Thing to Do Is, You Have to Do It, Even If You Don't Want To") that, while amusing, may quickly become tiresome for some readers. With good intentions and reckless results, Allie will appeal to children who enjoyed reading about Ramona, Amber Brown, Junie B., and the other feisty girls found in beginning chapter books. This novel proves that the master of young adult popular fare is able to adapt her breezy style for a younger audience.—Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA