This book frustrated me. I have carried it around for two weeks because I don't know what to do with it. It is a very cute story, a graphic novel which kids love, same author as Roller Girl. The problem is that it is written on a third grade level, but it contains sexual references. It's very well written, but I know when students see the work "sex" they will freak! This is one of the challenges of having a library for 3rd -8th grade. Probably 5th-8th would be fine with it, but I am rarely at circulation desk to monitor what kids are checking out. If anyone else has read this, I would love to hear your thoughts. ( )

Victoria Jamieson has done it again! I thought [b:Roller Girl|22504701|Roller Girl|Victoria Jamieson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447914095s/22504701.jpg|41951492] was a brilliantly realistic portrayal of early adolescence, friendship, and sports. ALL'S FAIRE is just as good, if not better.

This time the story is about a homeschooler transitioning to a public middle school. When I was a kid, saying someone was homeschooled meant they were weird. It was an insult, or maybe a way to let someone know they had broken an unspoken rule ("Dude, what are you doing? Were you, like, homeschooled or something?"). This has stuck with me so much that when I considered homeschooling my own kid, part of my brain was like, "No, don't. She'll turn out too weird." But, obviously, that's the part of my brain I need to shush. Really, it is a great gift to weird. To be yourself. To "do you" as the kids say (God, I'm old).

When I was in college there was a group of pretty hardcore Ren Faire kids. "Ren Faire" also became shorthand for weird, though it wasn't really meant as an insult. More like the extreme of unusual behavior ("Dude, what am I doing? Does this mean I have to, like, join Ren Faire now or something?"). Those Ren Faire kids seemed to live in their own little bubble and it was every bit as exclusive and clubby as a fraternity or sorority (not that I would really know -- I was a theatre nerd).

So this book combines these two "weird" things and gives the reader a completely endearing, relatable character in Impy. She has a good heart. She makes understandable mistakes. She tries to hide herself away to fit in with the popular group, but eventually can't stand the nastiness of the queen bee Mika. This sounds like a fairly generic plot, but there's magic in the details. As with ROLLER GIRL, there's a wonderful feeling of authenticity as you read the book. The characters come across as genuine and whole. The plot is satisfying. All around just fantastic. ( )

I really enjoyed this read. I loved how this book was structured. I thought this book had such a fun structure using the medieval festival as a the framework of the chapters. I thought his book really represented so many issues that come up in middle school and found it to be refreshing read. I really enjoyed the art style and this book just put a smile on my face. I really loved the concept of this novel. It was such a fun read and grew to love the main character and i felt like this story could happen in any middle school and most students could relate to this character. I hope to read more by this author in the future.
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I really enjoyed this read. I loved how this book was structured. I thought this book had such a fun structure using the medieval festival as a the framework of the chapters. I thought his book really represented so many issues that come up in middle school and found it to be refreshing read. I really enjoyed the art style and this book just put a smile on my face. I really loved the concept of this novel. It was such a fun read and grew to love the main character and i felt like this story could happen in any middle school and most students could relate to this character. I hope to read more by this author in the future.
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7/10 ( )