Review by Booklist Review
Twelve-year-old Peter Gronkowski knows he's Poplar Lane's resident business professional: founder, CEO, CFO, and COO of Peter Presents, Inc. To increase his impact, he hires his first unpaid intern, neighbor and classmate Rachel Chambers, a quiet girl who dreams of being a writer. When Peter's constant demands and claims to Rachel's creativity drive her to break away and start a competing business, war is declared. As the stakes escalate, both middle-schoolers resort to tactics that prove disastrous and eventually force them to examine their own conduct and motives. Set in a microcosm where everything is Poplar this and Poplar that, each kid plays an important role entrepreneur, blogger, comic magician for hire, artist yielding humorous situations, relationships, and outcomes. Peppered with exclusive business tips and Rachel's work in progress (Cyrano's Revenge), this series debut provides plenty of laugh-out-loud bits, told in alternating chapters by the competitors. Eventually, Peter and Rachel learn that there are different interpretations of success, that business and friendship require work, and that saying you're sorry isn't unprofessional.--Fredriksen, Jeanne Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Peter Gronkowski has spent most of his 12 years maintaining his entrepreneurial social status, giving himself titles of founder, CEO, CFO, and COO of Peter Presents. After Peter chooses his neighbor Rachel "the Puppet" Chambers to be his unpaid intern, he selfishly claims Rachel's profitable idea as his own. Rachel quits and becomes Peter's primary competition. Their rivalry creates disastrous results until they discover that "winning feels good until you're winning for the wrong reasons." Narrators Monika Felice Smith and Christopher Gebauer skillfully capture the array of Rachel and Peter's emotions, as well as the well-rounded secondary characters. VERDICT Mincks's novel is perfectly layered with humor, tension, and adversity and reaffirms that true friendship is golden. Listeners will eagerly await the sequel.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City School District, OH © Copyright 2018. 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
Unscrupulous Peter and self-effacing Rachel are next-door neighbors but not friends. When Rachel becomes the unpaid intern of Peter's neighborhood business empire, she swiftly comes to resent being exploited. Rachel launches a competing business venture, but guilt and ethical dilemmas plague both entrepreneurs until they reach a rapprochement one wishes real-life adults would emulate. Unexpected heart prevails in this entrepreneurship story; business tips are included. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Peter, an over-the-top but not particularly ethical young businessman, spouts the jargon of the trade with an expert's enthusiasm. Rachel is his quiet, shy neighbor who often seems to disappear into the background of life even when she's with her outgoing best friend. Hoping to find her own voice, Rachel agrees to become Peter's unpaid intern in his next business venture, but the experience leaves her feeling used and angry. Peterwho is self-focused and has little empathyhas that effect on people. Seeking a bit of sweet, targeted revenge, Rachel creates a rival business. Unfortunately, her determination leads her down an unsavory path, as she ignores her inner voice and defrauds her gullible customers. Speaking in opposing first-person voices, the two kids (depicted in cover art as white) only slowly come to understand both their own shortcomings and the other's needs. Interspersed between some of the chapters are bits of the fantasy novel Rachel is crafting, which incorporates elements of their conflict. The premise is amusing, the pitfalls are revealing, and the ending, of course, is happy, but the meandering trail to that ending is overlong. Many of the running jokes are based on business concepts (including the tips that Peter sprinkles throughout his narrative) that may not resonate with the intended audience.Entertaining (perhaps mostly for young entrepreneurs), occasionally insightful, but never especially compelling. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
