Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus by Kristen Tracy

Camille is having a rough time as a fourth grader.  Her best friend has moved to Japan, and Camille has not gotten a letter from her yet.  She has low blood sugar and has to carry extra food to school in a cooler which makes her stand out from the others.  Her desk is right under a dangling hornet.  And to top it all off, she fell under the bus when she was trying to get on.  It’s enough to make someone give up entirely!  But not Camille McPhee.  Instead she is hopeful that things will get better.  She even has a plan to avoid making new friends by acting like a lone dingo.  And how could that fail?

Tracy has created a book that is modern and fresh.  It speaks to everyone who has been accident prone, or a misfit, or just has days or years filled with things going wrong.  In other words, it will speak to everyone.  Camille is a great heroine with a spot-on voice that is wry, funny and entirely herself.   Throughout the book, we can see Camille grow despite her own best efforts at staying the same.  The secondary characters are equally interesting from her warring parents to the girls who just might become her friends if she lets them.

A funny book about self-esteem, friendship and life in general, this book is a winner of a novel.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Check out Kristen Tracy’s website.