EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE

Seventh-grader Emma-Jean has always maintained an emotional distance from the messy life around her. In fact, she behaves like a scientist observing creatures under a microscope. So when she's asked for help in combating one of her school's mean girls, Emma-Jean attacks the problem in her usual logical fashion. Narrating from the alternating perspectives of aloof Emma-Jean and kind, vulnerable Colleen, who wants only to be popular, Mamie Gummer skillfully distinguishes the diverse cast that makes up Emma-Jean's world. Gummer has obviously inherited a facility for accents from her mother, Meryl Streep. She gives each character a subtly distinct voice while sustaining the detachment that is quintessential Emma-Jean. S.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]