Carolyn Ortiz
iUniverse (2008)
ISBN 9780595447183
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 11) for Reader Views (10/08)
Have you ever had to change schools? It can’t be easy having to leave all that is familiar and venturing into a whole different school. This requires making new friends, adjusting to different teachers and having to rely on your own self to make the changes that you need to make in yourself.
Danielle Webb seems to have it all. She has two parents that shower her with all their attention and give her lots of gifts. She goes to a private school and has a very special friendship with Francesco. She also gets to play Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Megan Donovan is very unhappy; she feels cheated since she has to play the Wicked Witch of the West rather than the main character.
She is very happy to spend a few weeks touring Europe with them. However, when they get back, her life takes a horrible turn. The sports memorabilia business which her dad bought is not doing any good. In fact, he has been taking out way too many loans to try to keep the business afloat. But his marriage has been falling apart and can’t be put back together.
Danielle gets shifted from one parent to the other with joint custody. They have to break the news to her that she has to change from her private school to going to public school.
Danielle makes a new friend in Maya at her new school. Maya and Danielle learn a lot about each other and their unique customs; they develop a friendship somewhat similar to hers with Francesco. Maya even stands up for Danielle when the “cool girls,” Felicia and Gabby, make fun of her.
I go to a private school too. I can relate to how hard it would be to switch from a private school to a public school. I enjoyed “Trinity Soup” very much. It’s a book which covers a lot of topics that are much a part of life today, such as a parent’s divorce, and cultural differences which are more common today than they were when my parents were younger. This is a great book for someone who has ever had to change schools or deal with divorce. It’s written from a young preteen girl’s perspective. I hope Carolyn Ortiz writes more great books like this.
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