Violet in Bloom by Lauren Myracle

Violet in Bloom by Lauren Myracle
"Katie-Rose, Violet, Milla, and Yasaman—four girls with seemingly little in common but their flower names—are nurturing their new friendship and are busy building luvyabunches.com, their very own social-networking site. Their first flower-power task? A doomed campaign to get their school to serve healthier snacks. The Jelly-Yums they champion—soon dubbed “beans of grossness”—taste like candied beets. And that’s just the start of their troubles. A scheming classmate tries to drive a wedge between Katie-Rose and Yasaman, Violet may have been slammed in a secret journal, and poor Milla unintentionally commits hamstercide. It will take all the strength and genuine affection of these pals to weather a particularly stormy week of fifth grade."- summary from Amazon

Let me start off by telling you that I love Lauren Myracle. She is funny and I've yet to come across a book of hers I haven't loved. This was no different. I absolutely love this series and can't wait to read more from these girls.

It was a bit hard for me to get into the middle-grade mindset and the 3rd person POV, but once I did, it was just so fluid and fun for me. The book though is not just all fun and games. What I love about this series is that Myracle throws in real-life issues that kids have to deal with, like the death of a pet, friendship troubles and many other things, though one thing that isn't made an issue is the fact that Milla has two moms. That is awesome; no one freaks out about it or thinks it's unnatural. It just is.

Myracle also doesn't talk down to her readers (well, except for me, but only because I'm WAY out of the demographic, lol) and isn't condescending in any way. The kids know what is going on around them, they're smart, rebellious, and usually it's the adults who are out of the loop (which is usually true, hence why I'm a kid at heart. I never want to be a grown-up). The girls kickstart a whole campaign to get the school to eat healthier in regards to the snacks they pass out. They do a ton of research, present the case to their teachers and it all gets rolling. These girls are wonderful role models and this is a great series to give to your young ones. It's almost like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but younger and without magical pants.

Overall, this is another winner for Myracle and I'm excited to see where the girls are taken next.

FTC: Borrowed book from library (yes, this does happen on occasion!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.