Publishers Weekly
Prolific author Paulsen (Hatchet; Nightjohn) aims for laughs but misses in this slight story about an anal-retentive girl forced to work without her net. The "exceedingly organized" Molly keeps life tidy in a three-ring binder with sections for school, social life and family life, in order to manage the home she shares with her grandmother, Irene, since her parents' death in a car accident (a loss treated matter-of-factly). Irene and Molly are not ideally suited as roommates: for each of Molly's strictures, her grandmother has a corresponding wild hair. The morning that the binder disappears, Molly must prepare for a test without notes. It's also Senior Citizen Day, an event Irene hasn't missed-to Molly's horror-since kindergarten. The broadly farcical plot careens from one implausible event to the next. In Molly's mind, the loss of the notebook sets off the chain of mishaps. She gets a black eye before leaving the house ("Come on, princess, we'll grab an ice pack for that eye on the way to the bus stop," Irene says). She also tears her skirt, finds herself lugging around both Irene's huge handbag and a friend's cello, and delinquents who are lighting matches singe her hair. Unfortunately, Paulsen never explores the real motivation behind orphaned Molly's need for structure, and the revelation that Irene deliberately swiped the binder seems cruel, not funny. Ages 8-12. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Molly McGinty, a sixth-grader at Our Lady of Mercy Middle School, is panicked over the loss of her three-ring binder. In it she keeps everything she needs to be organized, such as homework assignments, addresses, and due dates of library books and her grandmother's bills. To make things worse, her extraverted and unconventional grandmother and guardian, Irene, comes to school on Senior Citizens' Day. The woman introduces the French class to vocabulary that sound like swear words, gets busted for smoking in the girls' room, initiates a poetry slam, and talks Father Connery into letting the social studies class listen to a baseball game as an example of democracy in action. Despite her embarrassment, Molly comes to appreciate the school's social misfits and also snags a boyfriend. And by the time she recovers her notebook, she's learned, thanks to Irene, "to go with the flow." Although the overexuberant woman is a little hard to believe, the character still works. This light, breezy romp is humorous and as unpredictable as Grandma Irene.-Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
There's only one problem with organizing one's entire life in a multi-pocketed three-ring binder: it might get lost. Alas, this is the fate of sixth-grader Molly McGinty, black belt in the art of maximum productivity. Molly has to be organized, because her grandmother/guardian, a talent agent for animals, lives life as if her creativity would be threatened by "paying bills on time, dressing sedately, and dusting." In fact, the eccentric bon vivant wears purple suede jeans to Senior Citizens' Day at Molly's Our Lady of Mercy Middle School, marking the beginning of Molly's "really good day," whose highlights include a black eye (dashing to the bus), getting set on fire, and having her hair braided against her will. Molly's perpetual battle against "widespread fundamental uncertainty" (and everything her grandmother stands for) is hilarious, and children with embarrassing relatives and those with obsessive-compulsive tendencies will understand completely. Early readers will no doubt devour this somewhat slapstick, atypically girl-centric Paulsen offering. (Fiction. 8-11)
School Library Journal - Audio
Gr 4–6—When Molly McGinty, a sixth grader at Lady of Mercy Middle School, loses her binder/organizer, she knows she's going to have a bad day in Gary Paulsen's humorous tale (Wendy Lamb Books, 2004). Her prediction starts coming true when she trips and gets a black eye before school. To make matters worse, it's Senior Citizens' Day at school and Grandma Irene will be there. By mid-day, Molly is faced with detention for trying to bail her grandmother out of the principal's office, gets creamed with school cafeteria food, is drenched with pen fluid, and has embarrassed herself in front of a guy she likes. Can Molly turn her day around? Will she ever find her notebook? Although Irene is a bit hard to believe, the story is fun and uniquely crafted. The plot and characters accurately capture middle school life. Angela Dawe's unique narrative style brings the characters to life. She perfectly voices the plot transitions, changes in mood, and different character, adding depth to the story. Fans of Gary Paulsen and humorous realistic fiction will enjoy this masterful audiobook.—Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT
