Imogene’s parents work at a renaissance fair, and she’s been homeschool with her younger brother until now. This year she gets to be an actor in the fair, instead of just helping in her mom’s shop. She’s also training to be a knight, and she’s going to attend public school for the first time. Middle school is scary. The first day everyone ignores her. Then some kids act like they might be friends, but they’re not always nice. Her clothes aren’t right, her exclamations (I loved “oh, fie!”) are odd, and she’s afraid to tell anyone where she lives. Until she sees a girl at Ren Faire from school- they get along great in that setting, but the girl keeps her distance when they’re back at school. Confusing. There’s a strict teacher and teasing boys to face too. And back home Imogene reacts to some things by deceiving her parents and being unkind to her brother. Consequences ensue, probably the worst is that it seems her brother will never forgive her. Things get worse at school, but surprisingly her juggling skills come in handy, and she finds ways to respond to the mean kids (and they’re really mean. Wow). Then some of the mean girls come to the Faire for a birthday; Imogene at first plans to avoid them, but then there’s a huge confrontation. Things get worse again before they get better, but Imogene finds a way to wrap it all up with flair, wielding her new skills. And a happy circumstance allows her to make amends with her brother for what she’d done. I really liked the ending.
Borrowed from the public library.
