Description:
Janine Gagnon, or "Mean Janine" as she is known by some, has always believed that her popularity is the reason she's the first-picked in any game. In reality, all of her classmates are afraid of her cruel tongue and her tendency to play humiliating pranks. Eric Gooch, on the other hand, is a quiet, unassuming student whose parents' separation has forced him to switch from his private school into Janine's public junior high. Since their first meeting, Janine and Eric have hated each other. When their science teacher asks the class to observe one another for a semester and record their findings, Janine, in true character, decides to observe herself. At his teacher's prompting Eric agrees to observe Janine, but only if he can use his video camera and only if she doesn't know about it. Slowly, through the shifting perspectives of Eric's thoughtful observations and Janine's hurried ones, it becomes clear that Janine's arrogance is really a cover for her raging insecurity: "So I was a little flat-chested, and I didn't hang around the smoky school bathroom curling my eyelashes and glomming on lip gloss. Does that mean I didn't have any friends?" However, Eric's feelings of contempt remain until he observes Janine in a dangerous situation. When Eric steps out from behind his camera to help Janine, an unlikely alliance is formed between observer and observed that changes both of their perspectives. Karen Romano Young has written a thought-provoking novel about how taking the time to look at people from a different angle can completely change your point of view. Young's unusual take on the confusing world of adolescent relationships will undoubtedly prompt teens to take a closer look at both themselves and each other. (Ages 12 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert
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