Reviewed by Theresa L. Stowell for TeensReadToo.com
Laurie has been in love with Arthur Jerome Weisberg, aka Artie, since he moved into her neighborhood when he was twelve and she was ten. Ever since, she has been recording such Artie-centered details as the number of times she sees him in a day, his clothing choices, and his daily snack preferences (i.e. Snickers over Kit Kats and Pepsi not Coke) in her computer diary, signing each entry with the name she will have when they marry: Laurie Weisberg.
When Laurie gets chosen as the lead writer for a film production that is being put together at her school, her life gets more complicated than she ever imagined.
Kathy, her best friend, wants to be the lead actress. Gus, one of her guy friends, wants her to get to know Lyn, a new student that he thinks she will like. But Laurie doesn't understand why she should bother getting to know Lyn, and Kathy is driving her crazy.
Laurie finally gets brave enough to ask Artie if he'd like to be on the writing committee with her, but he has the nerve to tell her that he's not interested, recommending Kathy's lame brother, Wayne, instead. To keep from having to work with Wayne, Laurie makes a point to ask Lyn. Unfortunately, Laurie is so immersed in her crush on Artie and jealousy of Lyn that she almost loses out on a great learning opportunity with the film.
This novel has a great group of characters, ranging from Laurie's cool (gasp!) parents, her staunchly feminist grandmother, artistic and smart friend Gus, flaky best friend Kathy, to the clueless Artie and his best friend - "Kathy's stupid brother Wayne."
Readers will find themselves not only wanting to be a part of Laurie's circle but also sympathizing with her as she learns the hard (and often amusing) way that the friends she has are more important than the boy she doesn't have - and that an obsessive crush is not worth the energy it consumes.
Laurie has been in love with Arthur Jerome Weisberg, aka Artie, since he moved into her neighborhood when he was twelve and she was ten. Ever since, she has been recording such Artie-centered details as the number of times she sees him in a day, his clothing choices, and his daily snack preferences (i.e. Snickers over Kit Kats and Pepsi not Coke) in her computer diary, signing each entry with the name she will have when they marry: Laurie Weisberg.
When Laurie gets chosen as the lead writer for a film production that is being put together at her school, her life gets more complicated than she ever imagined.
Kathy, her best friend, wants to be the lead actress. Gus, one of her guy friends, wants her to get to know Lyn, a new student that he thinks she will like. But Laurie doesn't understand why she should bother getting to know Lyn, and Kathy is driving her crazy.
Laurie finally gets brave enough to ask Artie if he'd like to be on the writing committee with her, but he has the nerve to tell her that he's not interested, recommending Kathy's lame brother, Wayne, instead. To keep from having to work with Wayne, Laurie makes a point to ask Lyn. Unfortunately, Laurie is so immersed in her crush on Artie and jealousy of Lyn that she almost loses out on a great learning opportunity with the film.
This novel has a great group of characters, ranging from Laurie's cool (gasp!) parents, her staunchly feminist grandmother, artistic and smart friend Gus, flaky best friend Kathy, to the clueless Artie and his best friend - "Kathy's stupid brother Wayne."
Readers will find themselves not only wanting to be a part of Laurie's circle but also sympathizing with her as she learns the hard (and often amusing) way that the friends she has are more important than the boy she doesn't have - and that an obsessive crush is not worth the energy it consumes.
