Zoey has always been into fashion, but she has never had much opportunity to enjoy it because of her school's strict uniform policy. When a new principal comes on board, though, the uniforms are suddenly and surprisingly abolished, and Zoey finds herself with the daunting task of being allowed to make a fashion statement every single day of the week. Though she doesn't really remember her mom very well, she knows she was great at sewing, so Zoey decides to channel her mom, take out her old sewing machine and sew her own clothes. With the help of her best friends, she sets up a blog, Sew Zoey, to document her successes and failures. Next thing Zoey knows, she has a loyal fan base and a request from the principal to design an outfit for an upcoming fashion show! Will she learn enough about fashion design in time to sew something fabulous?
There have been at least two other series for this reading level that have focused on fashion. The Zibby Payne books deal with the consequences faced by a young girl who decides to dress like a tomboy, and the Cinderella Cleaners books focus on a girl who works for her family's dry cleaning business and borrows the clothes for various events. This first book in the Sew Zoey series is a more interesting read than the books I read in either of those other series. Here's what it has going for it:
A positive outlook. This is not a book about challenging authority, sneaking out of the house, or otherwise behaving badly. Like the American Girl books, this is an upbeat story focused on a young girl who marches to her own drumbeat and takes the time to become good at what she loves.
Interesting and relevant use of technology. Without resorting to obnoxious chatspeak or unduly glorifying the internet, this book shows how blogging can help someone indulge in a new hobby, and even shows how sometimes the internet can be used as a vehicle for a random act of kindness. It eliminates, or at least steers away from, a lot of the less constructive uses for the internet and texting that are often portrayed in other books for this age group and keeps things wholesome and clean.
Strong family ties. Zoey is close to her aunt and her dad, and though she is not really heavily focused on the loss of her mom at a young age, she tries to get close to her by wearing her clothes and learning to sew. I feel like I have read a lot of middle grade books where it's considered cool to defy one's parents and sneak around behind their backs. It's nice to see a book that treats family ties as a cool thing to keep up with, even in middle school.
Depth. This isn't a book about how to follow the crowd and join in on the latest fads. Rather, Zoey's passion for clothes is about expressing herself and trying new things. This book really focuses on the value of hard work over the tween desire to fit in, or to look “hot.”
There's a little bit of the usual middle school melodrama between Zoey and another girl, which may seem a bit cliched, but even that fit nicely into the overall theme of the story, and I think kids and parents alike would be pleased with the way Zoey handles the issue. Overall, parents can feel confident handing this book to their young girls as young as 7 or 8 and even as old as 12 or 13, depending on their interests and reading abilities. Read-alikes include the Saige books from American Girl, Notes from an Accidental Band Geek, and My Life in Pink and Green.