Luv Ya Bunches

Katie-Rose, Violet, Camilla, and Yasaman don't seem to have much in common other than the fact that they all have flowers for names. The four girls all come from different social circles and no one would initially predict that they would become friends. But when their fifth grade year begins a series events bring the girls together as they deal with the snobby Modessa and her controlling ways. With the help of a chat room built just for them by computer-savvy Yasaman, these four girls learn to stand up for themselves and find true friendship in places they never expected.

I have to admit that the premise of this book is pretty cheesy. Four girls named after flowers? A girly cliche. Four girls who come from ethnically diverse backgrounds? Sounds like a bad joke waiting to happen. And they all come together against the queen bee of the class and become fast friends? It's been done. It's almost too perfect to work. But somehow author Lauren Myracle turns this cheesy idea into something that's actually a lot of fun without being overbearing. No lecture here about the importance of racial tolerance as the girls' diverse backgrounds act more as a backdrop than the center of the story. With the number of books out there that directly address racial and LGBT tolerance, it is refreshing to see these issues addressed in a more passive that's-just-the-way-it-is tone.

The narration in Luv Ya Bunches (first in a series about the flower girls) is peppered with IM chats and screenplays along with traditional narration from alternating perspectives, and the pages turn quickly. This book is just a bit of dramatic girly fun, plain and simple. And sometimes that's all you need.

Overall Grade: B+



But apparently not everyone was as happy as I was to see all of the diversity that this book offers. Here is an article from School Library Journal about how Scholastic decided not to include Luv Ya Bunches in its 2009/2010 book fair after Myracle refused to alter the storyline by removing Camilla's lesbian parents. Props to her for standing up to the censors.