Nice and Mean by Jessica Leader

Leader, J. (2010). Nice and Mean. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Plot

  Sachi (the nice girl) and Marina (the mean girl) are forced to work together while taking the same Video Skills elective class in their middle school. Told by alternating "nice" and "mean" voices, author Jessica Leader takes what could have been a cliche middle school meltdown and turned it into something quite fascintaing. Readers get to know the backgrounds of each girl and find out that they are not too different from one another and they use their differences to help each other out in areas that they need to change. Sachi is of Indian decent and readers are introduced to Indian culture tween girls are raised in this homelife. We also get to see why Marina is the way that she is and it is proof that there is always two sides to every story.

Review

  Again, Jessica Leader surprised me by writing a book that from all inclinations felt like it would turn into a cliched tween drama novel. When I finished this book I was pleasently surprised at the depth of her characters and the back stories to each one. Too many times you hear about mean girls in middle school but you rarely figure out why they are the way that they are. Nice and Mean does just that. Readers see relationships grow, secrets revealed, and tweens mature. Leaders' writing style truly captures that perfect tween voice and captivates all.

Genre

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Reading Level/Interest Age

Tween/9-12 years/5th-8th grade

Similar Books

Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better- Lauren Barnhodlt

The Melting of Maggie Bean- Tricia Rayburn

This is Me From Now On- Barbara Dee

Personal Thoughts

  I am not a huge fan of mean girls novels but this one took me by surprise. Maybe it was the deep background of Sachi and her Indian culture or the fact that even that mean girls get picked on. This was an easy read and a perfect rendition of what tween culture is all about.

Characters

• Sachi Parikh- A nice smart middle schooler who tends to let others walk all ove her.
• Marina Glass- Outspoken mean girl who hangs with the popular kids and comes to the realization that popularity doesn't always bring happiness.
• Rachel Winter- Marinas' so called best friend. Complete mean girl and will do whatever it takes to get to the top, even if it means backstabing her best friend.
• Flora- Sachi's friend even though she too tends to take advantage of Sachi from time to time

Readers Annotation

Mean girls 2.0 ahead. Readers beware!