As she starts the fourth grade, Ramona believes that this year will be "the best year of her life, so far." She can show off her calluses from swinging on the rings in the park; the boy she calls Yard Ape sits across the aisle from her; her teacher praises her writing; and she has a new baby sister, Roberta. But best of all, she has a new best friend, Daisy.

Little does Ramona know the challenges her fourth-grade year holds in store. Not only must she improve her rotten spelling, but she must also be a good role model for baby Roberta. And her mother wants her to spend more time with the awful Susan.

Life isn't easy, especially when she is surrounded by perfect spellers and everyone praises her big sister, Beezus, for being responsible. Sometimes Ramona fails, often with hilarious results. But with the support of family and friends, she discovers something reassuring -- that being imperfect can be perfectly fine.

This one and "Ramona and her Mother" and probably the two in the series I remembered most vividly, and neither of them disappoint on a reread. This final book feels like the perfect finale - it has a great mix of Ramona antics (the ceiling scene makes me cackle), her dealing with growing up, and classic Quimby family moments. I genuinely felt like crying when finishing this because it brought back how much these books meant to me as a kid. :,) ( )

I listened to this as part of the Ramona Quimby Audio Collection. I found it soothing and incredibly comforting. ( )

This is a fun book, and though I don't remember the earlier Ramona books very well this one did capture the charm I remember from them. ( )

I keep reading the Ramona books, in part, because I have an awesome granddaughter named Ramona. She just turned 1-year old the week before I read this book. The Ramona in this book is 9 going on 10. So, there's not much parallel. In the earlier books, there was some parallel with my awesome grandson, Anderson, who turned 8 a month ago.

But, in this book, I saw less parallel between Ramona in the book and Anderson. Likely it's because girls and boys begin differentiating along about third grade. Ramona in the book is in fourth grade, so it's all a bit more foreign to me. I still liked the book, only a bit less so. But in the end, what's not to like about a kid who is intrinsically adorable, but who struggles to make sense of the world. The world doesn't always make a whole lot of sense.

Should be 3½*s were that possible. ( )