by Tonya Duncan Ellis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Children's (Middle Grade)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh,
the tangled web we weave…
Sixth
grader Sophie Washington thought she had life figured out when she was younger,
but this school year, everything has changed. She feels like an outsider,
because she’s the only one in her class without a cell phone, and her crush,
new kid Toby Johnson, has been calling her best friend, Chloe. To fit in,
Sophie changes who she is. Her plan to become popular works for a while, and
she and Toby start to become friends.
In
between the boy drama, Sophie takes a whirlwind class field trip to Austin, TX,
where she visits the state museum, eats Tex-Mex food, and rides a kayak. Back
at home, Sophie fights off buzzards from her family’s roof, dissects frogs in
science class, and has fun at her little brother Cole’s basketball tournament.
Things
get more complicated when Sophie “borrows” a cell phone from a neighbor and
gets caught. If her parents make her tell the truth, what will her friends
think? Turns out Toby has also been hiding something, and Sophie discovers the
best way to make true friends is to be yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
No one knows how I feel about Toby. Not even Chloe. If
anyone found out, I’d never come out of my room.
“Sophie, time for breakfast!” Mom calls.
I grab my backpack and rush out my bedroom door.
Bam! Me and my eight-year-old brother, Cole, collide.
“Move back, Creep!” he yells.
“Look where you’re going, Blockhead,” I counter.
“I was watching where I was going,” he frowns. “You were
just running through the house again
like Mom and Dad told you not to.”
I love my little brother, but he can be such a pain
sometimes.
“Can you two please be nice to each other?” pleads Mom as we
enter the kitchen, still grumbling.
“Cereal’s for breakfast. I’m helping in Daddy’s office this
morning, so we need to leave early.”
Mom slides in her earrings and scrolls through her cell
phone while we pour cornflakes into our bowls.
Our father is a dentist and has his own dental practice. Two
or three days a week, Mom goes in to help him with accounting and checking in
patients in his office in downtown Houston. Since we attend Xavier Academy, a
private school that doesn’t have a school bus, she drives us to school every
morning.
Mom’s been working with our father most days recently
because the city had heavy rains earlier this spring. A couple of weeks ago,
his office flooded. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights, like Noah’s ark. Dad
had to see patients in a building across the street while repairs were being
made. A lot of his medical equipment was ruined. Dad left his cell phone there
and it got water damage, and still needs to be replaced. I don’t know how he
can stand being without it. He’s been using an old flip phone until he has time
to buy a new one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tonya
Duncan Ellis was born and raised in Louisville, KY. She loves reading so much
that as a child she took books with her everywhere. She knew she wanted to become
a writer after an article she wrote was published in her hometown newspaper
when she was a teen. Since then, Tonya has worked as a journalist and freelance
magazine writer. She's an award-winning author of the Sophie Washington
children's book series, geared towards readers ages 8 to 12. The books recount
adventures of Houston, TX preteen Sophie Washington and her diverse group of
friends. Each funny and heartwarming story teaches lessons about friendship,
responsibility, truthfulness and perseverance. Books in the series include
Queen of the Bee, The Snitch, Things You Didn't Know About Sophie, and The
Gamer. When she's not writing, Tonya enjoys reading, biking, swimming, travel
and spending time with her husband and three children. She lives in Houston,
TX.
tonyaellisbooks.com
Facebook:
@tonyaellisbooks
Twitter:
@TonyaDEllis
Barnes
and Noble:
No comments:
Post a Comment