Two 12-year old girls launch a plot to publish a book which Natalie has written; her best friend, Zoe, poses as the literary 'agent' to shelter Natalie's identity. Great fun ensues with amusing machinations to maintain the charade. As well, the story was a heartfelt rendering of Natalie and her mother, widowed too young and the daughter missing the Dad.

It was also an encouraging story of writing novels and blessedly featuring a decent school teacher who mentors them through the editing and business end of the process. It was delightful to read a middle-grade story in a supportive, educational setting. Overall in his oeuvre, author Clements does an excellent job in articulating the trials and tribulations of middle-grade students. A great comfort read for the Tween set. ( )

I really liked this book, and think it's encouraging, especially to young (and all) writers who want to become published someday, like me! ( )

The main characters Natalie and Zoe best friends who attempt to accomplish a task that has many ups and downs. Natalie is a great writer for her age and she writes a book for fun. Zoe reads the book and thinks that the book needs to get published. Natalie likes the idea but would never be able to do it without Zoe and some other peoples along the way's help. Every time things seems easy, a major hurdle gets in the way. Find out if Natalie is able to get her book published by her mom, without her mom knowing... ( )

I enjoyed reading this book! This book can be very inspiring for young readers giving them the idea that anything can happen! Not only does this book contain some empowering moments, it contained a lot of mistakes and mishaps as well. This allowed the book to teach some great lessons, for an example, there is an incident about cheating in school that occurs. This is something that can realistically happen therefore it teachers readers a strong message on what can happen if you cheat! The main characters Zoe and Natalie are two 6th grade girls that many readers can relate to. They are ambitious but also like normal students. The big message in this book is a lot about the important of family, good friends, and good moral values. Another message would be about working hard to get what you want and you will achieve, no matter the task. ( )

This is a wonderful children's novel, recommended to me by a friend. Twelve-year-old Natalie has written a short novel, and her best friend Zoe is convinced it should be published. Natalie's mother is an editor working in a publishing house, but Natalie doesn't want her to be biased... so the girls enlist the help of their English teacher, invent pseudonyms for themselves, and work out how to get the book into Natalie's mother's hands.

The characterisation is excellent, contrasting the quiet Natalie who lacks confidence and the outgoing, sometimes pushy Zoe; it's this contrast which moves the story along, making it difficult to put down, even though some of the ideas the girls have seem rather far-fetched when I think about it now. It's educational in a low-key kind of way, covering as it does the processes required to get a book published, including the legal contracts and publicity. There are are one or two less likeable, caricatured people - Natalie's mother's boss springs to mind - and while it isn't a humorous novel, there's a light-hearted feel to it which made me smile in places.

It's more than just the story of Natalie's novel; there are themes to be explored, such as office rivalry, and coming to terms with the loss of a parent, as well as the importance of standing up for one's dreams. Intended for approximate ages 8-12, this would probably appeal to some teenagers too... and parents! Highly recommended. ( )