Otherwise

The lovely Choo recently dropped off a bookcrossing.com copy of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (1972). I've always wanted to come across a bookcrossing book and I've wanted to reread all the Judy Blume books as an adult, so this really killed two birds with one stone.

I remember liking this book when I was a kid, but I think I only read it one time (as opposed to Are You There God, It's Me Margaret and the semi-smutty Forever which I read about a million times.) As an adult, this didn't really hold up. The story features Sheila, the younger of two sisters, during the family's summer in a vacation home. Sheila is a know-it-all who never likes to admit that she is scared or doesn't know how to do something. This gets her into some uncomfortable positions when she is caught in a lie, but there is never a big come-uppence where she learns a big lesson about being herself. Of course, she does learn to chill out a bit and not lie so much, but gradually, and just sort of. I had a tendency to sympathize with the older sister, since I'm an oldest myself, and since Sheila is kind of a brat. Still, I'm glad I got to re-read this....

And here is the bookcrossing page for this copy -- keep your eye out at local bus stops and maybe you can be the next reader!