Cliques, Hicks and Ugly Sticks is the Confessions of April Grace by KD McCrite. This is the second book in a series and I had no read the first one. However, I didn’t have any trouble following the story and the characters that were used in the book.
April Grace has just started junior high and on top of all the drama and changes going on with that – the St. Jameses are staying with her family while Isabel recovers from an accident. Isabel is a bit of a drama queen and her husband Ian is at her beck and call. Meanwhile, April thinks that her mother might be sick and tells her father that she is concerned. Both her mother and father assure her that everything is fine, but April thinks that day by day her mother is getting sicker and sicker. Plus, April has to deal with one of the cliques at school – The Lotties. The leader, Lottie, used to be friends with April and her best friend Melissa – but this year she is not allowed to speak to any of the Lotties without her speaking to them first.
The holidays are fast approaching and April is worrying that her mother is really, really ill. Instead, she finds out that her mother is expecting a baby, but was afraid to tell April and her sister until she was a bit further along in the pregnancy.
The book really pulls at your emotions – there are funny parts (especially when April talks about her older sister Myrna Sue), stressful parts like all the drama with the St Jameses moving in, Grandma moving in, switching houses and bedrooms around and sadness when April’s mom goes in the hospital a month and a half before the baby is due and ends up giving birth! Overall, the book kept my attention and was a quick read. It is definitely recommended for the young adult crowd.
About the Book
Just when April Grace thought the drama was over . . .
After an automobile accident, Isabel St. James—resident drama coach and drama queen—needs help putting together the church play. Mama insists April Grace and Myra Sue will help. April’s fall is now devoted to spending every afternoon with Isabel and Myra Sue—if anyone is as big of a drama queen as Isabel, it’s Myra Sue. Plus, she’s dumb. (Okay, not dumb, but “older sister dumb.”) If that’s not enough, Isabel is wreaking havoc in the community trying to get Rough Creek Road paved, the new boy at school will not leave her alone, and then Mama drops the biggest bombshell of all . . . April Grace is no longer going to be the baby of the family . . .
Girls will completely relate to April and love her sense of humor as she deals with siblings, boys, and the many changes that come with growing up.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”