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The School Story by Andrew Clements
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The School Story (original 2001; edition 2002)

by Andrew Clements (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,925174,738 (3.81)5
This is a wonderful children's novel, recommended to me by a friend. Twelve-year-old Natalie has written a short novel, and her best friend Zoe is convinced it should be published. Natalie's mother is an editor working in a publishing house, but Natalie doesn't want her to be biased... so the girls enlist the help of their English teacher, invent pseudonyms for themselves, and work out how to get the book into Natalie's mother's hands.

The characterisation is excellent, contrasting the quiet Natalie who lacks confidence and the outgoing, sometimes pushy Zoe; it's this contrast which moves the story along, making it difficult to put down, even though some of the ideas the girls have seem rather far-fetched when I think about it now. It's educational in a low-key kind of way, covering as it does the processes required to get a book published, including the legal contracts and publicity. There are are one or two less likeable, caricatured people - Natalie's mother's boss springs to mind - and while it isn't a humorous novel, there's a light-hearted feel to it which made me smile in places.

It's more than just the story of Natalie's novel; there are themes to be explored, such as office rivalry, and coming to terms with the loss of a parent, as well as the importance of standing up for one's dreams. Intended for approximate ages 8-12, this would probably appeal to some teenagers too... and parents! Highly recommended. ( )
  SueinCyprus | Jan 26, 2016 |
Showing 17 of 17
Two 12-year old girls launch a plot to publish a book which Natalie has written; her best friend, Zoe, poses as the literary 'agent' to shelter Natalie's identity. Great fun ensues with amusing machinations to maintain the charade. As well, the story was a heartfelt rendering of Natalie and her mother, widowed too young and the daughter missing the Dad.

It was also an encouraging story of writing novels and blessedly featuring a decent school teacher who mentors them through the editing and business end of the process. It was delightful to read a middle-grade story in a supportive, educational setting. Overall in his oeuvre, author Clements does an excellent job in articulating the trials and tribulations of middle-grade students. A great comfort read for the Tween set. ( )
  SandyAMcPherson | Dec 31, 2023 |
I really liked this book, and think it's encouraging, especially to young (and all) writers who want to become published someday, like me! ( )
  MollyGroff | May 23, 2022 |
The main characters Natalie and Zoe best friends who attempt to accomplish a task that has many ups and downs. Natalie is a great writer for her age and she writes a book for fun. Zoe reads the book and thinks that the book needs to get published. Natalie likes the idea but would never be able to do it without Zoe and some other peoples along the way's help. Every time things seems easy, a major hurdle gets in the way. Find out if Natalie is able to get her book published by her mom, without her mom knowing... ( )
  jlindqu5 | Feb 23, 2020 |
I enjoyed reading this book! This book can be very inspiring for young readers giving them the idea that anything can happen! Not only does this book contain some empowering moments, it contained a lot of mistakes and mishaps as well. This allowed the book to teach some great lessons, for an example, there is an incident about cheating in school that occurs. This is something that can realistically happen therefore it teachers readers a strong message on what can happen if you cheat! The main characters Zoe and Natalie are two 6th grade girls that many readers can relate to. They are ambitious but also like normal students. The big message in this book is a lot about the important of family, good friends, and good moral values. Another message would be about working hard to get what you want and you will achieve, no matter the task. ( )
  ldewey1 | Feb 13, 2016 |
This is a wonderful children's novel, recommended to me by a friend. Twelve-year-old Natalie has written a short novel, and her best friend Zoe is convinced it should be published. Natalie's mother is an editor working in a publishing house, but Natalie doesn't want her to be biased... so the girls enlist the help of their English teacher, invent pseudonyms for themselves, and work out how to get the book into Natalie's mother's hands.

The characterisation is excellent, contrasting the quiet Natalie who lacks confidence and the outgoing, sometimes pushy Zoe; it's this contrast which moves the story along, making it difficult to put down, even though some of the ideas the girls have seem rather far-fetched when I think about it now. It's educational in a low-key kind of way, covering as it does the processes required to get a book published, including the legal contracts and publicity. There are are one or two less likeable, caricatured people - Natalie's mother's boss springs to mind - and while it isn't a humorous novel, there's a light-hearted feel to it which made me smile in places.

It's more than just the story of Natalie's novel; there are themes to be explored, such as office rivalry, and coming to terms with the loss of a parent, as well as the importance of standing up for one's dreams. Intended for approximate ages 8-12, this would probably appeal to some teenagers too... and parents! Highly recommended. ( )
  SueinCyprus | Jan 26, 2016 |
I enjoyed reading this chapter book for a few reasons. First, the author includes pictures throughout the book to provide context to the text. For example, the two main characters are having a phone call with each other. The author illustrated the two girls so the readers could have a better understanding of their conversation. Second, the author used a lot of text features to make the book more interesting. For example, when the main character in the story is writing her book, the author indents the text and uses a different font to make it stand out. I think the overall message of this book is If you believe in yourself, then you can accomplish anything. ( )
  Kelsey_Barrell | Apr 6, 2015 |
I liked this story, but I didn't think it was quite as good as [b:Frindle|439173|Frindle|Andrew Clements|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IkhBtImvL._SL75_.jpg|1993854] ( )
  scote23 | Dec 26, 2013 |
This one tugged at my heart, when it finally came together. I loved this story, felt very attached to the characters and was truly intrigued by the story as a whole. ( )
  matthewbloome | May 19, 2013 |
I liked this story, but I didn't think it was quite as good as [b:Frindle|439173|Frindle|Andrew Clements|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IkhBtImvL._SL75_.jpg|1993854] ( )
  scote23 | Mar 30, 2013 |
I read this book aloud to my daughters.

The book was outstanding!! We all loved it! Zoe and Natalie were loveable characters, and the plan they concocted to get Natalie's manuscript published was very entertaining. The book was brilliantly written, extremely enjoyable, and very empowering for children.

I loved the warm, genuine friendship between Zoe and Natalie: Two friends who would do anything for each other and stick by one another.

We haven't yet read anything else by Clements, but we will definitely look into his other novels! ( )
  DarlenesBookNook | Jun 12, 2011 |
Abandon, because I didn't know what is happening in the story even though I back up and re-read. ( )
  ywoo | Oct 15, 2010 |
Okay, I admit, this is a children's book. But I just loved it anyway. I liked the idea that a kid could write a book and get it published, without the publisher knowing who she was! Maybe I'll go behind my parents' backs and finally get my book published too. Although, at 17, it's a little late for that. ( )
  mandyk90210 | Feb 3, 2010 |
Hi readers, my name is Natalie Nelson! Have you ever wished to publish a book that you wrote? Well, I have the same wish too! The story opened at the Deary school, where my true friend Zoe Reisman & I were attending. I’ve just finished writing the first two chapters of my new novel “The Cheater”. Zoe thought that the story was very interesting & was good enough to publish; she wondered what would happen in the rest of the story, so she asked me to finish it. Hold it right there, I almost forgot to tell you that my mom was an editor; she worked for the Shipley Publishing Company. Should I ask my mom for assistance? What if she thinks that my book is not good enough to publish? Then, Zoe came up with a great idea --- USE A PSEUDONYM! This means PEN NAME or PHONY NAME. So I picked Cassandra Day as my pen name. With the help of our English teacher, Laura Clayton as an adviser & Zoe as an agent, the Sherry Clutch Literary Agency was set up. As the story moves on, Zoe used her nickname Zee Zee to call my mom, telling her that she has an excellent book for her. How do we make sure that my mom will read my manuscript? Her desk is always piled up with stories sending by unknown writers! Will my book get published at last? Will I become a famous author? If you want to know my fortune, you will be filled with curiosity, while you read The School Story by Andrew Clements. ( )
  sasgrade4 | Oct 29, 2009 |
I've been an Andrew Clements fan ever since I read Things Unseen, and this earlier book did not disappoint. I loved the publishing industry background, and the great way the main characters came to life, complete with photo id no less. Selznick did a wonderful job with the illustrations, and I especially loved the way the last picture was such a satisfying conclusion to an already good story. ( )
  anneofia | Aug 29, 2009 |
I think what is special about this book, is that a normal average kid made a best-selling book in a New York City. I think it shows that kids can do great things that adults can do. ( )
  eunsup | Dec 13, 2007 |
00006023
  lcslibrarian | Aug 13, 2020 |
(4.7)
  mrsforrest | Oct 15, 2014 |
Showing 17 of 17

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