Here She Is, Ms Teeny-Wonderful!

Jami van Haaften is a librarian and author of An Index to Selected
Canadian Provincial Government Publications for Librarians, Teachers and
Booksellers.

Martin Godfrey has developed a hilarious tale with believable characters. Many readers in their early teens will identify with Carol, a tomboy propelled into a national contest by her over-eager mother. Carol has earned notoriety for jumping garbage cans with her bicycle, but a piece of plagiarized poetry has been unwittingly submitted to contest officials as her talent. Events overtake Carol as the contest brings out the worst in everyone. Readers will cheer her on as she comes up against snobbish contestants and practises revenge against her antagonists.

Of course, the outcome is predictable, as Carol finds the contest a maturing experience. However, the overall tone is lighthearted and readers will have many good chuckles as the story unfolds.