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Fabulous Five #1
Seventh Grade Rumors
The first book in the Fabulous Five series, featuring the stars of Haynes's Taffy Sinclair books, delineates the concerns of anyone starting junior high school: one has to dress right, act right and hang out with the right people. Jana Morgan and her four friends who comprise the Fabulous Five club share these concerns. Rumors run rampant at Wakeman Junior High, and the Fabulous Five learn how gossip can create problems for everyone. Junior high also teaches the girls about friendships, new and old.
119 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1988
5 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Betsy Haynes
123 books110 followersABOUT ME
Maybe it's because my feisty grandma chased tarantulas around with a broom when we lived on an oil lease property when I was a baby that made me love danger and adventure. And maybe it was my father's spending nights as a trombonist with the bands of his day and his days spent drawing sketches that sparked my artistic side. Do you suppose that because my mother stood only four feet ten inches tall that I feel like a giant at five feet? And I'm sure my FBI (Full Blooded Italian) step-father, his seven brothers and sisters and their families are responsible for my LOVE of Italian food. That's who I am. Who are you?
My First Book, Peppy The Frog That I Wrote In The 2nd Grade
I'll always be a child at heart. Whenever I close my eyes, wonderful, funny, awful, embarrassing memories of middle school/junior high come flooding back to fill the pages of my contemporary novels. My childhood friendships and rivalries with old enemies all find their way into my books. I've even spied on my own kids for story ideas.
Unlike most kids who can't wait to grow up, I've gotten younger--at least my stories have. I've stepped into the world of 7 to 10 year olds.
I and my husband, Jim, live in Texas on Lake Lewisville north of Dallas. We are owned by our greyhound, Miller. Our favorite things to do are traveling the world and boating.
Maybe it's because my feisty grandma chased tarantulas around with a broom when we lived on an oil lease property when I was a baby that made me love danger and adventure. And maybe it was my father's spending nights as a trombonist with the bands of his day and his days spent drawing sketches that sparked my artistic side. Do you suppose that because my mother stood only four feet ten inches tall that I feel like a giant at five feet? And I'm sure my FBI (Full Blooded Italian) step-father, his seven brothers and sisters and their families are responsible for my LOVE of Italian food. That's who I am. Who are you?
My First Book, Peppy The Frog That I Wrote In The 2nd Grade
I'll always be a child at heart. Whenever I close my eyes, wonderful, funny, awful, embarrassing memories of middle school/junior high come flooding back to fill the pages of my contemporary novels. My childhood friendships and rivalries with old enemies all find their way into my books. I've even spied on my own kids for story ideas.
Unlike most kids who can't wait to grow up, I've gotten younger--at least my stories have. I've stepped into the world of 7 to 10 year olds.
I and my husband, Jim, live in Texas on Lake Lewisville north of Dallas. We are owned by our greyhound, Miller. Our favorite things to do are traveling the world and boating.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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July 29, 2020 As a kid every Saturday we went to Kmart, and every Saturday my mom would let me buy one thing, and it was ALWAYS a fabulous five book. (The cover looks like a spiral notebook cover... I thought that was very clever)
I also managed to track down all the Taffy Sinclair books at a thrift store.
I wonder if this series is still at my parents I would definitely read them again.
I remember in the Taffy books Melanie was chubby and it make references to her eating brownies and then one day she was like NO i don't want the brownie... and then she got skinny.
This is a very vague memory... so don't quote me on this one, what you CAN quote me on is that Taffy had a crooked bicuspid, and Jana ate cream cheese and jam sandwiches,... which I tried because of her and they were DIS-GUS-TING, and I never trusted her again.
I also managed to track down all the Taffy Sinclair books at a thrift store.
I wonder if this series is still at my parents I would definitely read them again.
I remember in the Taffy books Melanie was chubby and it make references to her eating brownies and then one day she was like NO i don't want the brownie... and then she got skinny.
This is a very vague memory... so don't quote me on this one, what you CAN quote me on is that Taffy had a crooked bicuspid, and Jana ate cream cheese and jam sandwiches,... which I tried because of her and they were DIS-GUS-TING, and I never trusted her again.
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May 18, 2018Seventh Grade Rumors
PLOT: Jana Morgan and the rest of her friends in the FAB FIVE (Katie, Beth, Melanie, and Christie) are starting seventh grade at Wakeman Junior High. Immediately things begin to change when Jana meets Funny (who's a member of the rival clique the Fantastic Four)which causes tension with (Christie, Katie, and Melanie) and Beth starts to pull away from Jana and the others.
My Thoughts: While I'd read a few of these growing up I never read the first one in the series. It wasn't bad for a beginning book. It was pretty standard and gave an introduction to each of the main characters (Jana, Katie, Beth, Melanie, and Christie) and (Laura, Tammy, Melissa, and Funny) and set the stages for what's to come in the following books (Jana and Funny working as the seventh grade editors of the yearbook together and they're friendship), (Melanie's attraction to Scott and Shane), (Christie's attraction to John). It was a little strange to me how the schools were split. When I went to school elementary school was K-5. Middle school (or junior high) was 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. But here sixth grade is considered still elementary school and junior high is (7th, 8th, and 9th). The messages seemed to be 1) You can have other friends outside your main clique and 2) You can't judge a person by he say she say (Funny turns out to be more than a bubblehead) and (Laura turns out to be more than a mean girl). Also, there was more going on with Beth than just seeming on the outside that she didn't want to be Jana. All that saying that sometimes you have to look beyond what you see on the surface. What I also found odd was in the movies how the boys sat with the boys instead of their girlfriends. This isn't a school function in the auditorium and you have to sit with your classmates. Why couldn't Randy have just sat with Jana instead of meeting her afterwards? Is this some kind of weird boy rule of the guys of WJH, that if they sit with their girl they'll get clowned by the rest of the guys? (Shaking my head). That just struck me as off. It's also interesting to me how even though Jana and the rest of the Five are thrown into a new situation with kids from other high schools at first they still feel (alone). Their classmates are still there. When I was in fifth grade and transitioned over to middle school none of my other classmates went to my middle school. I never saw them again. And not only that, but most of my other classmates had gone to the same elementary and were familiar with each other. I thought it was kind of silly for The Five to get insecure and feel like they were being replaced, but I wondered if I would have felt the same way if I was a part of a group in the seventh grade. I really don't remember being part of a clique. So in that regard, the Five were lucky. They didn't even need to feel like outsiders. They had their own clique so one of them was bound to be in a class with the other and they all had lunch. They didn't even have to try to make new friends on the first day. But I guess such are the concerns of middle schoolers.
RATE: 7. The plot stayed true to a look of what starting middle school is like and keeping your mind open to new experiences, new friends, and new activities.
PLOT: Jana Morgan and the rest of her friends in the FAB FIVE (Katie, Beth, Melanie, and Christie) are starting seventh grade at Wakeman Junior High. Immediately things begin to change when Jana meets Funny (who's a member of the rival clique the Fantastic Four)which causes tension with (Christie, Katie, and Melanie) and Beth starts to pull away from Jana and the others.
My Thoughts: While I'd read a few of these growing up I never read the first one in the series. It wasn't bad for a beginning book. It was pretty standard and gave an introduction to each of the main characters (Jana, Katie, Beth, Melanie, and Christie) and (Laura, Tammy, Melissa, and Funny) and set the stages for what's to come in the following books (Jana and Funny working as the seventh grade editors of the yearbook together and they're friendship), (Melanie's attraction to Scott and Shane), (Christie's attraction to John). It was a little strange to me how the schools were split. When I went to school elementary school was K-5. Middle school (or junior high) was 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. But here sixth grade is considered still elementary school and junior high is (7th, 8th, and 9th). The messages seemed to be 1) You can have other friends outside your main clique and 2) You can't judge a person by he say she say (Funny turns out to be more than a bubblehead) and (Laura turns out to be more than a mean girl). Also, there was more going on with Beth than just seeming on the outside that she didn't want to be Jana. All that saying that sometimes you have to look beyond what you see on the surface. What I also found odd was in the movies how the boys sat with the boys instead of their girlfriends. This isn't a school function in the auditorium and you have to sit with your classmates. Why couldn't Randy have just sat with Jana instead of meeting her afterwards? Is this some kind of weird boy rule of the guys of WJH, that if they sit with their girl they'll get clowned by the rest of the guys? (Shaking my head). That just struck me as off. It's also interesting to me how even though Jana and the rest of the Five are thrown into a new situation with kids from other high schools at first they still feel (alone). Their classmates are still there. When I was in fifth grade and transitioned over to middle school none of my other classmates went to my middle school. I never saw them again. And not only that, but most of my other classmates had gone to the same elementary and were familiar with each other. I thought it was kind of silly for The Five to get insecure and feel like they were being replaced, but I wondered if I would have felt the same way if I was a part of a group in the seventh grade. I really don't remember being part of a clique. So in that regard, the Five were lucky. They didn't even need to feel like outsiders. They had their own clique so one of them was bound to be in a class with the other and they all had lunch. They didn't even have to try to make new friends on the first day. But I guess such are the concerns of middle schoolers.
RATE: 7. The plot stayed true to a look of what starting middle school is like and keeping your mind open to new experiences, new friends, and new activities.
February 7, 2019
NON SPOILER REVIEW
I enjoyed it. As middle schooler who now reads YA novels instead of middle school books; I didn't think I was going to like it. Surprisingly, I did! Although I don't love it, it was a good quick read that brought me back into my elementary days. Although, I gotta ask. Why didn't the boys sit with their girlfriends? That struck me weird. Although I wouldn't buy the whole series, I will be getting them from the library.
I enjoyed it. As middle schooler who now reads YA novels instead of middle school books; I didn't think I was going to like it. Surprisingly, I did! Although I don't love it, it was a good quick read that brought me back into my elementary days. Although, I gotta ask. Why didn't the boys sit with their girlfriends? That struck me weird. Although I wouldn't buy the whole series, I will be getting them from the library.
January 10, 2024
What is next for the Fabulous Five in middle school? I read these as a child and was happy to see the Taffy Sinclair series continued with new teens. Terrific series, well worth reading if you can find it.
February 13, 2020
My mind is still boggling that Jana thought it was perfectly okay to announce her friend’s personal business to every pre-teen at that god awful-sounding restaurant *shudders*
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
October 16, 2021
My childhood!
the beginning of my addiction to reading.
the beginning of my addiction to reading.
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March 8, 20233.5 stars
March 8, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up.
May 26, 2023
So far its shallow. Gets slightly better then it goes shallow again as it’s sets up for #2 in the series. RL 5
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July 25, 2014I read several Fabulous Fives growing up - they didn't stand out as too interesting and were a little over-dramatic, but they worked for my age group at the time. I liked the clique and the girls involved as they went through different situations at home, school, and together.
July 1, 2013
LOVED this series as a kid!
October 7, 2016
My first foray into YA literature of any sort. My sister was reading the Taffy Sinclair series,of which this is a sequel.
October 30, 2008
The Fabulous Five was my most favorite series growing up and is still my most cherished series...
July 7, 2013
I would so love to find this series again! Loved it when I was a kid! :D
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews