OPHIE OUT OF OZ

Ophie’s family has just moved again, leaving behind Ophie’s cherished best friend. Believing she looks and sings like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Ophie blunders the very first day at her new school by stating that the two popular “TV Girls” don’t sing all that well. Ostracized, Ophie finds herself paired up with the “cootie catcher,” Brittany. Throughout, Ophie is both misunderstood and reckless and only makes things worse as she tries to raise her status. She, does however, finally nab the attention of the snobby “TV Girls.” At what price? She sums it up herself by saying, “I don’t know who to be anymore.” The story sometimes verges on the predictable. Readers will sense that Ophie is going to sell her soul for popularity and can guess that she’s going to regret it. And she does. But overall Ophie’s sparkle and depth of character at the author’s hand make this an engaging look at the issue of pre-teen identity crisis. (Fiction. 8-12)