Smart Cookie

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 1, 2018

Review

A chapter book with a good heart and a lot of sincerity, but that doesn't quite hit its mark. The main character, Frankie, is a well-meaning and likable character who misses her mother, death by car accident, and who would like her father to meet someone so that they can be a family of three again. In that sweet way that children think that complex problems can be fixed by simple solutions, Frankie creates an online dating profile for her father and then tries to screen the "possibles" before they meet her father. There is a heavy authorial hand in the plotting of this one as something always comes up to assist Frankie in keeping her secret. The situations are not completely unbelievable, but Frankie is a heroine who is a little too philosophical, capable, and self-aware to be a mirror for many readers. There is also a situation with her grandmother that has a long mysterious build-up, but then almost no discussion when discovered and a too-pat resolution. The dating situation is also neatly wrapped up with a plot device and then an easy acceptance. The story has solid bones, and tackles some interesting themes, but needed more fleshing out to be a book that transcends being a book for a very narrow audience (that of 3rd/4th grade readers).

Overall Book Score: good