Official Review: Corey Tells a Story! by Meg Kimball

[bookowlie]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Corey Tells a Story!" by Meg Kimball.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Corey Tells a Story! by Meg Kimball is the 6th installment in the Advice Avengers series. It is a novel in the Young Adult genre. Corey Lawrence is a 13-year-old girl who co-writes the Advice Avengers column for the school newspaper with her best friend Andi. She has a close relationship with her widowed mother, although her mother’s dip into the dating pool makes for a few awkward moments.

Things get interesting when Corey, her close friends, and teacher become stranded at school during a snowstorm. A fun school sleepover ultimately turns serious, with the sharing of secrets and a surprise guest.

The author has a nice, natural writing style. The phrases in this book are creative and concise, as opposed to some writers who give long-winded descriptions to illustrate a minor point. As Mrs. Lawrence tells Corey regarding the private schools staying open despite an impending snowstorm, “The public schools could decide to serve alligator meat in the cafeteria, and the private schools would follow suit.”

The characters act in believable ways, such as Corey telling her ringing clock radio to shut up. I often talk this way to my kitchen timer and I'm sure most people have yelled at their alarm clock on occasion. All of the characters are vividly written. Sylvie, a nervous student, reads the school announcements incorrectly, to which another student comments that Sylvie has “mental cooties.” A popular student is visibly relieved when she realizes she received the wrong school pictures, which are actually Corey’s unflattering photos. Middle school life is depicted in all of its awkward yet lovable glory.

The witty mother-daughter banter is a pleasure to read. In one scene, Mrs. Lawrence tells Corey, “If Mrs. Fritz tells you to jump off a bridge, you’re in charge.” When her mother gets the point across that Corey forgot to feed the cat, Corey finds a creative way to prove the empty cat food tin is in the trash. It’s refreshing to see a Young Adult novel with a mother and daughter who have such an easygoing relationship.

Corey’s analysis of her friend Tyler’s Frosty the Snowman haiku is so funny it could be in a stand-up act. The best part is that her review lightens the mood when Andi has a meltdown in the restroom. There are several moments like this in the story, where there is a nice mix of weighty subject matter and comic relief to soften the tone.

There are a few grammatical errors and incorrect words/typos, but these errors did not distract from the story. In some instances, the word usage in Corey’s narration seems unrealistically mature for someone her age. Still, the dialogue among the characters and Corey’s narration are, for the most part, described in an age-appropriate way.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The plot is absorbing, but the real sparklers are the snappy dialogue and seamless blend of serious and funny situations. The story is geared toward tween and teen readers, but really anyone would enjoy this story of a nice teenager and the likeable people in her orbit. Note to the author (with apologies for paraphrasing): There were no lunch ladies harmed in the writing of this review.

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Corey Tells a Story!
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[zeldas_lullaby]

Well, as long as no lunch ladies were harmed!!

Thank you for your great review!!

For anyone following this, Forever Twelve comprised volumes 1-4, and I'm planning a full-length sequel with volume 5, this one (6), and the upcoming volumes 7 and 8. I'm hoping to get the kinks (typos and such) worked out before the full-length release!!

Meanwhile, all of this feedback about the individual releases is helpful and appreciated!! If anyone else out there reads this volume (or #5), feel free to share your thoughts! I always appreciate hearing them!

Thank you so much, BookOwlie. Great review!! Come hell or high water, I will find and correct those typos!! Yes I will. And the lunch ladies will continue to rule the school.

[bookowlie]

Well, as long as no lunch ladies were harmed!!

Thank you for your great review!!

For anyone following this, Forever Twelve comprised volumes 1-4, and I'm planning a full-length sequel with volume 5, this one (6), and the upcoming volumes 7 and 8. I'm hoping to get the kinks (typos and such) worked out before the full-length release!!

Meanwhile, all of this feedback about the individual releases is helpful and appreciated!! If anyone else out there reads this volume (or #5), feel free to share your thoughts! I always appreciate hearing them!

Thank you so much, BookOwlie. Great review!! Come hell or high water, I will find and correct those typos!! Yes I will. And the lunch ladies will continue to rule the school.

I wrote down the grammatical errors/typos while reading and would be happy to forward them to you.

-- 09 Jul 2015, 11:55 --

Well, as long as no lunch ladies were harmed!!

Thank you for your great review!!

For anyone following this, Forever Twelve comprised volumes 1-4, and I'm planning a full-length sequel with volume 5, this one (6), and the upcoming volumes 7 and 8. I'm hoping to get the kinks (typos and such) worked out before the full-length release!!

Meanwhile, all of this feedback about the individual releases is helpful and appreciated!! If anyone else out there reads this volume (or #5), feel free to share your thoughts! I always appreciate hearing them!

Thank you so much, BookOwlie. Great review!! Come hell or high water, I will find and correct those typos!! Yes I will. And the lunch ladies will continue to rule the school.

I wrote down the grammatical errors/typos while reading and would be happy to forward them to you.

Glad you enjoyed my little paraphrasing of your funny comment about the lunch ladies! I initially had a a different, boring sentence to wrap up the review and thought a funny comment would be an apt way to end a review about a very witty book.

[zeldas_lullaby]

HA HA HA HA!! Great decision! A little lunch-lady humor.

[gali]

Great review and the book sounds awesome!

[zeldas_lullaby]

Thanks, Gali!!

This is classic, you guys. One of the typos BookOwlie found involved an accidental reference to Mr. Daniels, the chorus teacher, as being a woman. Oops!

Maybe I'll just leave that part in. Then again, maybe not.

[bookowlie]

Great review and the book sounds awesome!

Thanks Gali!

-- 09 Jul 2015, 13:03 --

Thanks, Gali!!

This is classic, you guys. One of the typos BookOwlie found involved an accidental reference to Mr. Daniels, the chorus teacher, as being a woman. Oops!

Maybe I'll just leave that part in. Then again, maybe not.

Ha ha ha - When I first read the part, I thought Mrs. Daniels was possibly another teacher. Maybe Mrs. Daniels can appear in the next installment and teach 6-fingered instruction.

[bluemel4]

Wonderful review! I really enjoyed reading it. Meg seems to have a knack for writing hilarious heartfelt works.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Wonderful review! I really enjoyed reading it. Meg seems to have a knack for writing hilarious heartfelt works.

Thank you, Mel! Hey, great turn of phrase! Hilarious heartfelt. I like that.

[bookowlie]

Wonderful review! I really enjoyed reading it. Meg seems to have a knack for writing hilarious heartfelt works.

Thanks for the kind words. Hey, maybe your description can be used for marketing purposes! I can see the books on Amazon with the lead-in, "Meg Kimball, the author of many hilarious, heartfelt books.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Hey, I love that!

[bookowlie]

Maybe you should market the book as "the creator of the funniest haiku analysis ever".

[kio]

great review, I might have to try this one

[bookowlie]

great review, I might have to try this one

Thanks Kio! Although this can certainly be read as a standalone book, Forever Twelve (Volumes 1-4) and Andi Makes a Wish are the previous installments of this series. In fact, Forever Twelve was featured as the Book of the Month here a few months ago.

[Levi]

To the venerable Owlie, as usual, amazing job!! You are so good at writing very professional reviews with just the right touch of personality and humor. The adept, review writing Owlie really took wings with this one. After reading Forever Twelve, I would read anything by the most sarcastical, hilariously heartfelt author Meg Kimball, but your review would definitely sound the alarm from the mountaintops to call new readers in. Bravo, and encore! To the both o' ya's.