Smoke Screen (Ag Fiction (American Girl)) - Softcover

Koss, Amy Goldman

3.32

95 ratings by Goodreads

9781584852018: Smoke Screen (Ag Fiction (American Girl))

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1584852011 ISBN 13: 9781584852018

Publisher: Amer Girl Pub, 2000

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Twelve-year-old Mitzi tells a huge lie about her mom--who is going through mood swings as she desperately tries to quit smoking--to impress a boy in her class and she must suffer the consequences when the lie snowballs out of control. Simultaneous.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly:

Witty and deftly paced, Koss's (The Girls) sprightly novel revitalizes a familiar plot. Sixth-grader Mitzi, the narrator, has been desperately trying to get her classmate Mike to notice her. When she gets an eyelash in her eye and starts to tear up, she is positively thrilled that he asks if she's okay. The eyelash seems too banal to mention, so almost before she knows it, Mitzi is telling Mike that her mom is sick (well, her mother is in a terrible mood from trying to quit smoking). "What should I have said?" she asks the reader. "I was crying over war? World hunger?" The lie takes on a life of its own, and soon Mitzi's whole class is making sympathy cards to help her face her mother's recovery from a critical operation ("Our hearts are with you," writes the teacher on the envelope). The author cleverly balances the lighthearted with the thoughtful, and her characterizations are both on target and very funny. Mitzi's quick repartee with her friends and parents shows particular understanding of middle-graders and their concerns, and the adults, too, are lifelike. Kids will get a strong message about the addictiveness of cigarettes, as well as about the pitfalls of straying too far from the truth, but the lessons never get in the way of the laughter. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-The New Year is starting out great for Mitzi Burk. Her mom has decided to quit smoking, she has the best friend a girl could want, and she's seated next to Mike Humphrey, her first crush. Then, in the space of one short month, things change dramatically. Mitzi's mother is totally wrapped up in her unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking (the cleanliness quit, the vigorous-exercise quit, and the group quit) and her best friend has found a new, cooler friend, leaving Mitzi behind. Worst of all, however, is the growing lie she has told Mike in order to make an impression on him-that her mother has the horrible disease "Stripitis." Koss does an excellent job of expressing how adolescent minds work. The characters and plot are well developed and will be familiar to many readers. Short chapters and sparkling dialogue will appeal to even the most reluctant readers. Fans of Koss's The Ashwater Experiment (Dial, 1999) will love this comical page-turner.
Shilo Halfen, Chicago Public Library
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.