School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-When you're one of seven kids living in the only purple house in a conservative town with an artsy mom and all her "weirdo" sculptures on display every Halloween, it's tough to fit in. Yet, on the first day of middle school, bright, impetuous Calliope quickly sizes things up in pursuit of popularity. In this chatty, authentic first-person narrative, the icing on each chapter is a pithy list of "Callie's rules," such as, "Don't finish your work first." "Don't sit on the boy side of the cafeteria." When Sandy Van Dine, mother of the perfect and popular Valeri, petitions for Halloween to be banished and replaced by the politically correct and patriotic "Autumn Fest," Callie has to choose acceptance or Halloween. Abandoned by her best friend, and embarrassed by a counter petition that fails, Callie's rules become more perceptive: "There are always a lot more unpopular kids than popular ones. That's the way the popular kids feel they're special." Zucker shoots an ambitious arc for Callie's emotional and artistic growth, but nestles her in a warm, kind, and extraordinary family, which provides her with the courage to overcome peer anxiety, and the lawyerlike discernment to break the "dumb" rules while honoring the necessary ones (like reading the assigned book, not Jane Eyre). Readers will cheer on this emotionally complex, budding writer.-Sara Paulson-Yarovoy, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Raised in a liberal household by their artist mother and attorney father, 11-year-old Callie and her six siblings have always been encouraged to be free thinkers, and in middle school, Callie feels stifled by rules. The new set of social norms she believes she must follow to fit in-"Don't ride your bike to middle school"; "When you take a test, take your time. The worst thing in the world is to be finished ahead of everybody else"-are as repugnant to her as the restrictions set forth by her teacher and uninspiring principal. Not wanting to stick out from her classmates or seem strange, Callie reluctantly tries to blend in until plans to replace Halloween with Autumn Fest (promoting "good, wholesome, God-centered American values") force her to stand up for what she believes. Independent-minded readers will relate to the disgruntled heroine as she hatches a plan to bring fun and creativity back to Halloween. Zucker (Benno's Bear) paints morals and characterizations in broad, familiar strokes, but the antics of Callie and her large, boisterous family keep the material fresh. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Middle school has lots of rules: Don't cross over to the "boys' side" of the cafeteria, don't eat lunch, dress like the popular kids, don't ride your bike to school. Callie also makes up a few of her own: "Monks have the right idea. If you never open your mouth, you get into a lot less trouble." When the mother of a popular girl launches a crusade in their small town to turn the local Halloween celebration into a vanilla-flavored "Autumn Fest," she launches an opposing effort that gets her into plenty of hot water but also makes a strong case for the value of freethinking. Although many of the characters are only sketchily drawn, Callie herself is both funny and resourceful. Worthwhile and entertaining. (Fiction. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
How do the perfect people always know just what to do? Sixth-grader Calliope Jones wonders. Finding the written and unwritten rules of middle school hard to navigate, she writes some rules of her own. Her turning point comes when the town council decides to ban traditional satanic Halloween activities. For the adults and seven children of the Jones family, Halloween has been an opportunity to celebrate creativity. Torn between her desire not to seem weird and the loss of a family activity she loves, Callie finds her own voice, first speaking in front of the council and later writing and performing a play making the point that we have to move beyond fear of the different and unknown. A smart kid who loves to read and to write, Callie is an appealing, distinctive character with a familiar problem. Although the details may seem exaggerated for the message, young middle-school girls know well the fear of being different. Caught up by the fast-paced first-person narrative, they will celebrate Callie's rebellion.--Isaacs, Kathleen Copyright 2009 Booklist
