Picture Perfect?

by Melanie Stewart

Book Overview

, Always calm and cool, Lara has a great life. She paints, does well in school, and she even finds the time to volunteer at a homeless shelter. Things couldn't be more perfect., , But Lara's parents... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307234541
• ISBN13: 9780307234544
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Golden Books
• Length: 110 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.4"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Gen Girl Books

Being an enormous fan of Melanie Stewart's work, I have read all of her books, but this is superior to all but one. (#4, Singing Sensation is tops, in my book.) The writing demonstrated here is much better than most of the other books, though. The story follows Lara Morelli-Strauss, a fifteen-year-old girl who's father is German, Mother is Italian, and the family just moved to New York from Paris, France. Lara has made five best friends from different corners of the world, and is adapting well, Mama is a fashion designer and always can just throw herself into a new life full throttle, but Lara's father does not adapt as easily. Dr. Strauss likes lots of quiet, lots of time to sit and think or to study a book. Lara's mother and father start having fights more often and more furiously than before, everything starts to bug them about one another. Lara wonders why they're acting weird, but she is so focused on an upcoming art competition, she can ignore the stress around her with ease- for a while. Until her parents start hiding the fights when she enters the room, Lara knows something is going down, but she can't figure out what. For a while, she is distracted by the idea that film star Troy Marcus has been nominated for "Principal for A Day"- and accepted! When her parents announce a split-up, Lara runs away, writes notes to her friends, but, unbenounced to her, they never get them. This leads poor, emotional Lara to a feeling of being deserted by everyone. Is there any way everything can work out? The best thing about the first Generation Girl books: Lots of sub-plots. They follow many adventures of many of the girls at once. The raw emotion in this book leads me to believe the authoress herself has gone through a parental split-up, (I just gave away the ending, didn't I?) I have and believe me when I say you can only express these feelings if you've lived them. This is one of Stewart's greatest works, and since it's approx. only a 110 pgs, it makes a great weekend read. It will tug heart strings, fill you with digust and hatred toward the pompous movie star and make you appreciate what you have. It's just terrific.

this book is great

this book is great. i never expected for lara to get so mad and for the school to nominate the vice principal for principal for the day.