Review by Booklist Review
After 12-year-old Lucy spots a foreclosure warning in the mail, she realizes that the small-town Connecticut pharmacy owned and run by her mother and grandmother is in jeopardy. While Mom and Grandma argue about how to handle the crisis, Lucy, an aspiring makeup artist, joins her school's Earth Club, researches green businesses, and hatches a plan to expand the pharmacy into an eco-spa. Many young readers will recognize likable Lucy's frustrations ( I can't wait for the day when adults take kids seriously ), as well as her growing excitement, all expressed in an utterly believable voice: The Earth would be healthier just because of us . . . Like, my heart beats really fast when I think about it. Tales of young entrepreneurs featuring wish-fulfilling plots of young people gaining power have perennial appeal. This story of a family coping with dramatic financial strain may have particular resonance in the current climate, and Greenwald deftly blends eco-facts and makeup tips, friendship and family dynamics, and spot-on middle-school politics into a warm, uplifting debut.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Displaying a lively familiarity with the topics of makeup, makeovers and adolescent angst, Greenwald makes a bright debut with this timely story. Prospects look grim for the Old Mill Pharmacy run by 12-year-old Lucy's mother and grandmother. In order to drum up more sales, Lucy decides to offer customers beauty tips and free makeup applications. Although her efforts prove somewhat fruitful, her best idea comes after she joins her school's earth club: what if they add an eco-spa to the pharmacy? Like the recent Teashop Girls, also about an enterprising preteen trying to save a family business, this novel takes an upbeat approach to serious issues-money struggles and impending foreclosure-underscoring the optimistic message that one individual can make a difference. Ages 10-14. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-While opening mail at the Old Mill Pharmacy, 12-year-old Lucy Desberg discovers that her family's business is on the verge of foreclosure. The enterprising, spunky girl decides to help out by offering her make-up and makeover services to the store's clientele. As word of the seventh grader's cosmetic expertise spreads, her confidence grows, and she begins to envision other ways to save the pharmacy, including reinventing an unused space in the store as a relaxation room. Motivated by these successes, Lucy and her older sister secretly apply for the town's "Going Green Grant," hoping to expand the pharmacy into Connecticut's first eco-spa. Listeners will root for Lucy-she's selfless, not selfish; smart, not smart-mouthed; and her excitement for her future is infectious. Cassandra Morris narrates Lisa Greenwald's debut novel (Amulet, 2009), authentically conveying Lucy's earnest enthusiasm, her girlish squeals of delight, and her frustration at not being taken seriously by her mother and grandmother. Perhaps the only downside to Morris's voice work is that she does too good of a job of channeling Sunny, Lucy's best friend, whose whiny voice is grating. Fortunately, her limited role doesn't detract from Lucy's encouraging story of one girl's quest to make a difference in the world.-Audrey Sumser, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Mayfield, OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Lucy's family's beloved pharmacy is in financial trouble. When she learns of a grant to help the store become more environmentally friendly--and expand into an eco-spa, her dream business--she's determined to get it. Lucy's optimism and confidence are refreshing; if "even a twelve-year-old from Connecticut can do stuff" to help the planet, why not anyone? (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
When 12-year old Lucy learns the family pharmacy might close, she decides to attract customers using her preternatural knowledge of make-up application and products.When not giving the homecoming queen lip-gloss advice and booking appointments, Lucy helps her best friend Sunny deal with the many mini-mortifications of a first crush. The squeals, giggles and tiffs between these best buds teetering on adolescence allow readers a glimpse of true tweendom. Boys still seem mysterious, like aliens, and to Lucy they remain more annoying than infatuating. Preteens will enjoy Lucy's sweet first-person narrative, a disarming combination of innocence and earnestness. She feels sick of adults patronizing her and treating her like a little kid, particularly her flaky mom and no-nonsense grandma.A Going Green grant for local businesses seems a perfect way to make the pharmacy relevant again and prove that she should be taken seriously. Greenwald clearly takes preteens seriously, emphasizing their ardent concern for the environment and desire for change. This refreshing novel successfully delivers an authentic and endearing portrait of the not-quite-teen experience. (Fiction. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
