Summer 2005 Review

This book is about an 11-year-old girl named Harry Sue, whose real name is Harry Sue Clothkin, and her convicted felon parents. Harry’s goal is to toughen up and then commit a crime so that she could go to jail and be with her mom. She didn’t know which prison they had put her mother in and so her grandma became her guardian. Her Grandma has a license to run home day-care center. Harry Sue wants the kids to grow old of her grandma so her grandma can retire, close her day care center, and Harry can begin her life of crime.

Harry’s grandma, though, takes in more kids than she is licensed to have and is neglectful. Even though Harry’s grandma has two older helpers, Dip and Sip, they are always causing trouble.  She would always tell the kids stories and she would take care of them most of the time.

Harry doesn’t like her school either. Harry then becomes a friend with a quadriplegic and helps him come out of his tree house. Harry soon realizes that she does have a softer side to her and it always shows when she is with her grandma’s children.  Harry’s softer side is seen during the kids lunch time they always put in a drop of cold medicine in their applesauce so that they will fall asleep and they won’t have to take care of them. At this time, the two helpers Dip and Sip go out and smoke. After Harry takes Moonie Pie (yes, that is his real name), out of the bath tub she notices that he is always drowsy. She then knew that Sip and Dip put medication in the applesauce and gets revenge for Moonie. Together she and the kids go on wild adventures. The funniest is the Kleenex incident I won’t tell you about it because I don’t want to spoil it.

Overall, the book wasn’t my favorite. It was really confusing and in a way it was frustrating to read but that’s only my opinion. You will never believe the ending though because it is a big shocker. I would recommend this book to 8 or 9^th graders.

~ Lillian Ayana, grade 8, W.S. Guy Middle School

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