This Is Not the Abby Show

Like Jack Gantos’s Joey Pigza books, this lively novel from Fischer (Swimming with the Sharks) offers a firsthand view of life with ADHD. Abby Green intends to be a great actress someday and is currently a math whiz, but due to her disorganization and impulsiveness, she is a failure in English class, at least according to Mr. Finsecker, “the meanest teacher in the whole seventh grade.” Instead of spending the summer at a performing arts camp, Abby has to attend summer school. Worse, she’s grounded for vandalizing a car that she (wrongly) thought belonged to Mr. Finsecker. Though Abby believes this could be her worst summer to date, things turn out differently thanks to a special summer-school teacher and classmates who accept her as she is. Abby’s first-person narrative honestly expresses her frustrations with herself and those who don’t understand her, while hilariously recounting situations at school and at home with her colorful family. With the help of her therapist, Abby learns how to manage some of her behaviors and tap into talents she didn’t realize she had. Ages 9–12. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency. (July)