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Summary
Summary
A new school year has started for Julia Gillian,and so far, it's not going very well. Her bestfriend, Bonwit Keller, doesn't seem to want tobe best friends anymore. Learning to play thetrumpet, once Julia Gillian's heart's desire, ismuch more difficult than it looks. And theschool has hired an interim lunch monitor,the all-too-strict Mr. Wintz. As Julia Gillian'smusic teacher would say, Where is the joy?Thankfully, Julia Gillian soon learns thatsharing problems is often the only way to solvethem, and that life is only as complicated--oras joyful--as we want it to be.
Author Notes
Alison McGhee lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She is the recipient of a Loft-McKnight Fellowship, a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, a 1995 Editor's Fiction Prize from Snake nation, and a Pushcart Prize honorable mention. Her title Bink and Gollie, Two for One with Kate DiCamillo made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-5-Julia Gillian is one month into fifth grade at Lake Harriet Elementary School in Minneapolis and she is not happy. Mr. Wintz, substitute for the beloved lunch lady who broke her ankle, is imposing strict new rules; best friend Bonwit Keller has started making his own lunch and stopped inviting her to his house; and, despite her enthusiasm, good embouchure, and music teacher's exhortation to "find the joy," she cannot manage to make a sound with her trumpet. Inspired by the words carved long ago on a lunch table, "Vince knows all," and determined that, at age 10, she should be able to solve her own problems without help, Julia Gillian gets caught up in a web of fibs and misunderstandings until, through the intervention of her savvy babysitter Enzo, all ends well. What bring this typical school story up several notches are the wonderfully quirky characters; rich, playful language; funny dialogue; and lots of heart. Spot and full-page amusing illustrations throughout carry the story along. Readers will welcome this worthy sequel to Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) (Scholastic, 2008).-Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the second installment of a planned trilogy, McGhee again focuses in on the everyday life of the upstanding title character from Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing), as she seeks to add to her list of accomplishments. Fifth grade is proving to be harder than Julia Gillian anticipated-there is a strict new lunchroom monitor, her best friend is becoming more independent and Julia Gillian can't master the trumpet. Though she wants to solve her own problems, Julia Gillian ends up lying to cover up for her inabilities, which makes matters worse ("That was the problem with being a liar and a hider. Once you started, you just had to keep going"). While the day-to-day narration can be repetitive and the resolution comes a bit quickly and conveniently-Julia Gillian comes clean, learns to play the trumpet and realizes the lunch monitor is not as bad as he seemed-her inner conflicts and fears remain highly relatable. Generously spaced text and frequent, creative use of Kozjan's loose art, which exudes personality, should appeal to new and reluctant readers alike. Ages 9-12. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) Lauren Bacall's advice to Bogey doesn't work for fifth-grader Julia Gillian in this inviting sequel to Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) (rev. 7/08): she puts her lips together and blows...and nothing happens. The context here is a trumpet lesson, and while her music teacher compliments her exquisite embouchure (mouth position), he doesn't realize that when his trumpeters practice "Song of My Soul" Julia Gillian is guiltily, silently, faking it. An amalgamation of minor lies becomes a major weight for Julia, who struggles not only with her instrument but with her mysteriously distant best friend and a new school cafeteria monitor whose rigid enforcement of the rules drains all the joy from lunchtime. McGhee's plot mechanics are a little creaky, but her affectionate, humorous portrayal of Julia Gillian's emotional state reveals a keen perception of elementary-school worries. Kozjan's pen-and-ink drawings animate the characters as they fluctuate between the high and low notes of their everyday lives. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this stand-alone sequel to Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) (2008), the eponymous heroine pretends all is well while her fifth-grade world totters. Optimistic Julia Gillian's convinced "there was much to be happy about at Lake Harriet Elementary [School]," especially her first trumpet lesson. But when her best pal Bonwit starts avoiding her, a quirky new lunch monitor tyrannizes the school cafeteria and she can't "get even the tiniest sound" out of her trumpet, she wonders, where's the joy? Determined to handle her own problems, Julia Gillian turns into "a rule breaker and a secret keeper" until this uncharacteristic behavior attracts adult attention. Temporarily off-balance, Julia Gillian realizes she's old enough to be responsible for her actions and eventually recoups with a little help from the cast of eccentric supporting characters. Kids will relate to the sympathetic, humorous narrative as it tracks Julia Gillian's very convincing foray into self-imposed misery. Kozjan's energetic pencil-and-ink drawings reveal details of Julia Gillian's troubled but ultimately victorious quest for joy. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
