Kathleen Lane

Dear weird toes, crooked nose, stressed out, left out, freaked out

Dear missing parts, broken hearts, picked-on, passed up, misunderstood,

Dear everyone, you are cordially invited, come as you are, this party's for you

Welcome to Pity Party

There's a story about a mood ring that tells the absolute truth.

One about social media follower who literally follow you around.

And one about a kid whose wish for a new, improved self is answered when a mysterious box arrives in the mail. There's also a personality test, a fortune teller, a letter from the Department of Insecurity, and an interactive Choose Your Own Catastrophe.

Thank you, Goodreads and Little Brown Young Readers for a chance to read Pity Party!

This book was full of short funny stories. And some of the stories touched on touchy subject for some people depression and anxiety. But in the end just some funny odd stories. Like the one called “The Voice” {“Good morning, said The Voice. You look awful today.”} It short so it was definitely a fast read. I liked it! It's different and to me I think that is why it stands out. Instead of in-your-face talk about touchy feely things {my son calls it at least} it’s a roundabout way and because of that the people it could help the most may be more willing to read it. Happy reading everyone!… (mehr)

Maggie is a somewhat neurotic girl entering middle school. Her world seems to be falling apart around her. Her older sister is changing, no longer enjoying playing with Maggie and Polly (younger sister) the way she used to. Her best friend forever is changing, always hanging out with a different crowd of girls at school and rarely including Maggie, while a weird girl seems to have decided Maggie is her best friend, Maggie's parents don't seem as happy together as they used to, her neighbor who raises the adorable rabbits she loves is going to sell them to a restaurant, she begins to realize that another neighbor, a bully boy, is abused at home, and to top it all off, there's a murderer on the loose somewhere nearby!
Maggie tries to cope with and control all these things by observing her superstitious obsessions with even numbers, counting, and uttering little quasi-prayers in pairs.
A likable cast of characters is a nice book that is surprisingly lighthearted for a YA book that begins with a murder.
Maggie tries to protect… (mehr)