The Friend Thief (Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw Book 2)

by Gina Loveless, Andrea Bell (Illustrator)

Overview

In Book 2 of the Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw series, life is going great for Robin Loxley—until a friend thief comes along and threatens to ruin everything!

After her victory over Nadia, the playground bully, Robin has her old best friend back, plus a whole gang of new friends! But when that Nadia tries to steal away all of the people she holds dear, will Robin be able to keep her band of merry misfits together? Find out in Robin's second illustrated diary—a tell-all about growing up, dealing with bullies, and trying to do what’s right.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524855741
Publisher:	Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Series:	Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw , #2
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gina Loveless fell in love with kids’ books when she was eight and fell back in love with them when she was twenty-eight. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from California Institute of the Arts and resides in eastern Pennsylvania. 

Andrea Bell is an illustrator and comic artist living in Chicago through the best and worst seasons. She enjoys rock climbing, making playlists, being surrounded by nature, and indulging in video games.
 

Editorial Reviews

2020-03-01
Will a fifth grader lose all her friends to a bully?

In this sophomore volume in the Robin Hood–themed Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw series, green-hoodie–clad Robin Loxley and her group of friends are enjoying fifth grade, playing basketball, and eagerly awaiting the upcoming fair. Robin has her eye on bully Nadia, with whom she has a history. She soon notices her friend LJ spending more and more time with Nadia. As her concern slowly spirals into fixation, her other friends also begin to drift away. When she realizes she is all alone, Robin angrily confronts her friends and is then faced with the impact of her outburst. Watching Robin slowly and carefully sort out her feelings and hearing her unpack her missteps could certainly be an asset to those struggling with similar issues. Loveless’ offering is told in diary format with a large, easy-to-read typeface; pages of prose are sprinkled with cheerful crayonlike illustrations by Bell. At times, however, the illustrations can interrupt the text flow, as when a basketball bounces through it, seemingly out of nowhere. Similarly, the high-concept narrative feels overstuffed with unnecessary gimmicks, like spontaneously rapping twins Allana and Dale and an overabundance of food-related figurative language. Main character Robin presents white and her friends are racially diverse but not specified; the twins have two dads.

Ambitious but overworked. (Fiction. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews