Mackenzie Blue

May 4, 2009
With a lot of exclamation points and online shorthand (glossary included for newbies), Wells begins her saga of Mackenzie (Zee) Blue Carmichael, whose main goal is surviving junior high. Her BFF has moved “ALL THE WAY to PARIS,” her dad drops her off every morning in a smog-friendly SUV (the horror!), a rich and popular student is determined to make Zee's life miserable, and Zee's diary gets stolen and quoted on the whiteboard in music class. Wells throws in a lot of typical teen insecurity (“Zee felt like the newest inductee into the Geek Hall of Fame”), friendship troubles, fashion turmoil and some not-so-subtle soapboxing on “going green.” Young female tweens will enjoy the IM chats and earnest lists that Zee writes, e.g., “Ways My Life Could Get Worse.” Still, Wells is perhaps trying a bit too hard, with gratuitous pop culture references and frequent use of text-message lingo. As might be expected, things end well for Zee and her gang, but the characters are unlikely to linger with readers. Ages 8–12.

July 1, 2009
Gr 4-7-As in many other books for this audience, the protagonists best friend moves away; she makes a quirky new friend or two; a mean girl is the nemesis; and diary entries, lists, and IMing cut through the text. Throw in comic-book art with big-eyed characters and you have "Mackenzie Blue". Zee is starting seventh grade in Brookdale Academy with Jasper, an awkward Brit she befriended that summer. She is a guitar player who is looking forward to "Teen Sing", a national contest that offers its winner a recording contract. Auditions will take place in her schools auditorium. Zee enters instrumental class expecting a famous classical teacher and finds Mr. P., a nervous rock enthusiast. Kathi, the mean girl, is mean to him. Chloe, a girl from the South who plays cello, becomes perky friend number two. So why, when Zees diary is lost, does she suspect her friends and not Kathi? With its pop credentials, the book will have some appeal to tweens, but its nothing special."Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA"

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