Judy Blume meets Barbara Dee in this tender and empowering middle
grade novel told in journal entries and poetry about a young writer on
the verge of becoming a woman whose summer with her estranged father
doesn't turn out the way she'd hoped.
Twelve-year-old Victoria Reeves is all set for her "First Magnificent
Summer with Dad," even though it's been more than two years since she
last saw him. She's ready to impress him with her wit, her maturity, and
her smarts--at least until he shows up for the long road trip to Ohio
with his new family, The Replacements, in tow.
But that's not the only unpleasant surprise in store for Victoria. There
are some smaller disappointments, like being forced to eat bologna even
though it's her least favorite food in the world. And then there's
having to sleep outside in a tent while The Replacements rest
comfortably inside the family RV. But the worst thing Victoria grapples
with is when she begins to suspect that part of the reason Dad always
treats her as "less than" is for one simple reason: she's female.
As Victoria captures every moment of her less than magnificent summer in
her journal, she discovers that the odds are stacked against her in the
contest-no-one-knows-is-a-contest: Not only does her wit begin to
crumble around Dad's multiple shaming jabs, but she gets her first
period. And when Dad does the worst thing yet, she realizes she has a
decision to make: will she let a man define her?
