Too Cool for This School

by Kristen Tracy

A terrific novel about middle school friendship, family, fitting in, and finding out who you are when no one's looking. 

Lane Cisco loves, loves, loves her life at Rio Chama Middle School—until her offbeat cousin comes for an extended visit and turns everything upside down. With her individual sense of style and nonconformist attitude, Angelina "Mint" Taraval is everything Lane isn't. And instead of branding her a loser the way Lane and her friends expect, people actually want to hang out with her. Including the boys Lane and her best friend, Ava, like. 

When Ava comes up with a plan to ruin Mint, Lane feels stuck. She doesn't want to be mean . . . but she doesn't really want to stick up for her weird cousin either. Why can't things go back to the way they were before Mint arrived? 

And don't miss Kristen's other cool
CAMILLE MCPHEE FELL UNDER THE BUS
THE REINVENTION OF BESSICA LEFTER
BESSICA LEFTER BITES BACK

“Believable and drily funny . . . an empathetic and entertaining read.”— Publishers Weekly
  
“High drama so compelling middle school readers won't realize they're being exposed to a lesson in ethics. ”--Kirkus Reviews
 
“Snappy, intelligent prose . . . an excellent title.” — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Kristen Tracy reminds us of our best and worst moments in middle school, handling both the triumphs and the mortifying moments with just the right mix of surprise and worry.” —readergirlz.com
 

Genres: Middle Grade, Coming Of Age, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[AviP_C2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book it had a very good storyline and it flowed perfectly. It all started off when Lane (the Main Character) talked about being a part of the Student Leaders. She prayed for the longest time to be one of them. She wanted to be a part of the Student leaders, because every meeting they have, there are two huge pizza's right there ready to be eaten. Also, she could plan everything for her school, like the parties and the dances. Lane also had a huge crush on Todd a guy she has liked since the fourth grade. When Lane is getting very close to Todd and they're almost a couple, Lane's cousin Angelina Mint Taraval comes to town from Alaska. When Lane has her sleepover Mint is with her. Todd and Jagger (Lanes Friends Crush) come and crash their slumber party with donuts. When Todd is asking "who can pick up my donuts?" Mint quickly answered and took the donuts. Lane was very mad because she wanted to do it. The next day at school a group project arrises, Lane plans on being with Todd and her friends Rachel, Ava, and Lucia. But when she figures out it was assigned groups, she prays to still have friends in her group. When the teacher calls out Mints group Lane is very Upset. Mint was with Jagger and Todd. Lane was mad. She feels that Mint is ruining everything. she wants Mint to go back to Alaska and not "steal" Todd from her. Lane and her friends decide to make a plan to get Mint mad and go back to Alaska, first they make her were a gross shirt to school, but it turned out all the kids loved it. The second thing they did was to tear her homework, but that did not go well for the girls. One day after school Lane is waiting for Ava to come to her house. Once she hears the doorbell she rushes to the door, but Mint comes too Lane is very confused. When Lane opens the Door it was Todd and Jagger. Lane was blushing hard, she did not know Todd came and visited her. When Todd said, "where's Mint?" Lane was very mad on the inside and wondered why does he need Mint. Then Mint comes along and says "Let's go upstairs guys." Lane thought Mint invited Todd to her house and did not even tell me. Lane was done. When she heard the bell, Lane went to go get it. It was Ava. Lane told Ava that Todd and Jagger were here. Ava freaked out because she was not "cute" enough to see Jagger. Ava was furious. As the days past Mint had been getting closer and closer with Todd and Jagger. The girls were very mad but knew she would be back in Alaska in a week. One day when no one was watching Mint and Jagger kissed. The whole school found out about with the creepy kid Bob. The teachers were also informed about this news. Mint was bullied for the next three days and on her last day of school, she could not go, she did not want to go. Today was also Mint's goodbye party. Lane started to feel bad for her. Lane told some people to not show up days before. But now she invited all Mint's friends by a secret. When all the friends showed up, Mint was so happy, they partied, watched T.V and played outside. When it was time to go to the airport to take Mint back to Alaska Lane was upset and even cried. She did not want Mint to go and hope for her to come back.

[natalya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Cool for This School was . . . interesting. I'm currently a middle school student, so when I read books that take place in middle school, I'm extra careful when seeing if it really makes sense, or is realistic. This book was a little off, in my opinion.

Mint was a very unique character, but I never really got the "evil" part of her through the writing, other than what the other girls were saying about her. In a way, this reminded me of The Clique.

Other than the few misconceptions, I thought this book was okay. I understand why Lane wanted to fit in and be in the special club, but I feel like the beginning was extreme. Nonetheless, I kept reading. I don't know. I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. Especially the end.

[Abigail Williams]

I almost stopped reading, the beginning was so weird! It was okay, but not amazing.

[Ana(stasia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, thought Angelina (at the time) was nice. Just a little quirky. As I continued with the book, I started to dislike Mint. I thought she was stealing Jagger and Todd (and she did steal Jagger!). But toward the end, I felt bad for her. She was hanging out with Todd and Jagger so much because she wanted to let Lane have her friends-Rachel, Ava, and Lucia- to herself. I felt very bad for her when the quotes from her diary started traveling across the classroom. I thought Ava was being jerk. Even though Mint might have said some mean things in her diary, it gave Ava to right for her to look through it. A journal is where one can empty ones thoughts, not matter how bizarre. You should not go through it. 5 stars.

[Kiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I read, it is about how her wonderful life got destroy by her cousin and how they got along after lots of conflicts. I loved it so much that I read it for 3 times.

Best for peeps who like to read books about middle school

[Lisa B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

super cute

[Cynthia Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to read.

[Selma Bendaoud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This month, I read the fiction novel “Too Cool for this School” by the author Kristen Tracy. The protagonist of the story is a girl in 6th grade named Lane Cisco. She loves her life at Rio Chama Middle School. Lane even competed as class captain and won. She has a secret boyfriend called Todd but they do not want to make things official, yet. Lane has three best friends Rachel, Ava, and Lucia, they share everything together. She had a basic life that she loved and found perfect until her cousin Angelina came over from Alaska to her town for a month. She is the opposite of Lane, and everybody started to like her, even Todd and his friend Jagger, who is Ava's Crush. So, Lane and Ava are creating a plan to ruin Angelina’s social life at school. All the plans were too mean, and Lane does not want to be mean to her cousin, but she still does not want to defend her.

The book had many ups and down, and it made the reader realize the real personality of the characters. I liked all the characters except Ava because she is sneaky. She also has evil plans to ruin the life of her friends just because she is being selfish. She is also really jealous of Angelina that just wants to make friends in her new school. Another title for this book could be “The New Girl at School” because the main point of this novel is the struggles that occurred between Angelina and other friends. People were friends with her or simply hated her, and were jealous of her. I would describe Lane in 4 adjectives, jealous, selfish, helping, and social. She was always jealous of her cousin Angelina since she came to town for a month. She is also really selfish because she does not want Angelina to be friend with Todd, or anybody else. She does not even really want to share her room or anything with her. At the start of the book, Jane was helping her cousin, to get accepted and to have friends. She also likes to interact with many people, like people of higher grades and children in her class. Thus, Lane and Ava are not nice to Angelina that just wants to make some friends.

I liked this book because the readers can relate to it, and it also has a lot of girl drama. My favorite part was when Lane and Angelina were sleeping in the room, and Lane saw something glowing in her closet. It was Angelina shirt which had a wolf on it, all of Lane’s friends found it weird and her too. I did not have a least favorite part because all of the parts of the book were relatable and funny. All the scenes were also dramatic, with the school drama between the girls. I would read another book by this author because I found it relatable to all middle school girls. I would recommend it to middle schoolers especially girls. I would also recommend it to fifth-grade girls to know what they will have in sixth-grade. Thus, I really enjoyed reading the novel “Too Cool for this School”.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Cool for This School

Okay, here's my opinion on Lane Cisco, the main character. I think she's snobby, close-minded, rude, judgmental, and down-right mean. I mean, she changes at the end of the book, but still. It upsets me to think about her behavior.

And she's obsessed with normality! I'm not one of those people who's like, "normal is boring" but still! She was a little too obsessed with normality for my taste. Right from the get-go, she didn't let Mint (her cousin) in. And I'm talking literally (not opening the door) AND metaphorically.

Also, I think Lane could've done more to stop "the list" (the insult list from Mint's diary) from getting out there. She knew what Ava was doing. She could've tried to take the notes out, or if Ava didn't let her, sneak back in. One could argue if she did that, she'd run the risk of getting blamed for putting the list IN the desks, but if she really needed to (I know, I'm sorry) she could throw Ava under the bus in order to prevent Mint's diary from being plastered all over their classroom.

Lane, right away, viewed Mint as weird and naive. But you know what really drove me nuts? (Well, besides Lane thinking she's so much better than everybody?) The way Lane and Ava viewed guys! Like, if Ava was crushing on Jagger, then Mint couldn't text him. That's a very dangerous and immature way of thinking. Plus, it was a little confusing. Lane basically thought Mint was flirting with every boy she encountered. She thought Mint was flirting with Tuma because she "flipped her hair" multiple times, but, honestly, I think that's just proof that either Lane doesn't know what she's talking about or Lane isn't flirting, and Lane doesn't know what she's talking about. Okay, I guess Lane doesn't know what she's talking about, and here's why: we KNOW Mint doesn't like Tuma. Yet she was apparently flirting with him? I don't think so. Especially since we know she likes Jagger.

More about guys. Lane's so-called boyfriend is Todd. I, again don't think she knows what she's talking about. Because, I mean, it doesn't seem like they have much of a relationship. They have short text convos. Sometimes phone calls. They're held hand twice. It's not like they've ever kissed, or probably had a long conversation.

ARGH!

They drive me batty.

Anyhoo, I could go on forever. But I won't. I hope you've enjoyed reading this and will take my opinions and thoughts into account.

Bye!

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kristen Mitri
English 6(1)

Too Cool for This School is an exciting novel written by Kristen Tracy. The story takes place in Santa Fe where the main character, Angelina Mint Taravel stays with her cousin. The story begins when Angelina goes to Santa Fe while her mom and stepdad go on their honeymoon .A problem arise when Angelina is friendly and makes her cousin jealous. The first thing Angelina has to do was make friends. Next she had to learn to get along with everyone .Finally Ava (Lane’s friend) took Angelina’s diary and printed pages of Angelina’s diary and gave it to her friends and classmates and now everyone hates her .In order to fix the problem Angelina had to resolve the problems she had with everyone like Ava. Lastly this book ends with a happy ending Angelina is friends with Ava and Lane and everyone forgets about her diary and Angelina goes back to Alaska.

The main character of this novel is Angelina Mint Taravel. She was a very open person. Angelina treats the other characters nicely. Angelina doesn’t change throughout the story. She was a kind person in the beginning of the story. Angelina stays the same because she stays kind and herself .From the action of the main character, the reader learns to stay true to yourself and to never change for anyone. All of this made the plot of the story intriguing because you didn’t know what was going to happen to Angelina.


The most exciting episode of the story is when Lane gives Angelina her shirt because Angelina’s shirt is a bit weird because you would think that Lane wouldn’t want anything to do with Angelina. However the most disappointing moment in the story was when Ava gives Angelina’s diary to everyone and Lane doesn't do anything about it. I would recommend this story to girls because it has a lot of drama .I think that these students would enjoy reading about the drama between family and how they solve their problems.

[Kaylin Hoover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lane Cisco goes to Rio Chama Middle School she loves it until her cousin comes into town not only to go to school with her but to live with her! So when she got home one evening from school a normal school day but when she gets home she found out her cousin was staying with her! After they unpacked all of her cousin's luggage they went inside and Lane disagreed with her cousins fasion chocies. So she sat down to have a talk with her she said at my school you would not get very far. And her cousin asked i don't care i like what i where and no one can change me!If you want to learn more about the book read it but i would not recamend it because it didn't make scense.

Lanes cousin and of chose Lane it seems like Lane gets made at her cousin alot because she gets made bcause she does not like her cousins fashion choices she does not want her cousin taalking to her crush. It seems like shes always mad at her cousin. But in the end she ends up hanging around her cousin more and understands her more. Like I said if you think this book sounds intresting look at your nerest library for it! And aging i do not recomend it.


Thanks!

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lane Cisco has achieved what most sixth-grade girls can only aspire to: Queen Bee status. She’s the class captain, has three BFFs and a “secret boyfriend”. But her popularity is given a reality check with the arrival of her cousin Angelina, better known as Mint. Even though she’s only staying with Lane for a month, Mint becomes the center of attention at school. But what goads Lane and her friends is that Mint doesn’t even try or care to fit in and be popular. Mint makes friends easily and sets her sights on some of the boys. After they have had all they can take, the BFFs, led by Ava, hatch a plot to humiliate Mint and squelch her popularity. But Lane begins to feel remorse about the plan and is torn between loyalty to her cousin and her own anger about being usurped by her. This appealing read has it all: friendships, popularity, spite, bullying, jealousy and the angst that runs rampant in middle school. There are painless lessons about loyalty and family. The varied fonts mix it up and will appeal to teens and tweens. The title is a must for middle schools and would be a worthwhile addition to any library.

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, as a preteen girl I would have absolutely loved this book. As a 5th grade teacher looking for books that will appeal to the boys in my class-no way. The main character annoyed me, maybe because I was like that in my (much) younger days.

"Lane Cisco loves, loves, loves her life at Rio Chama Middle School—until her offbeat cousin comes for an extended visit and turns everything upside down. With her individual sense of style and nonconformist attitude, Angelina "Mint" Taraval is everything Lane isn't. And instead of branding her a loser the way Lane and her friends expect, people actually want to hang out with her. Including the boys Lane and her best friend, Ava, like. When Ava comes up with a plan to ruin Mint, Lane feels stuck. She doesn't want to be mean . . . but she doesn't really want to stick up for her weird cousin either. Why can't things go back to the way they were before Mint arrived?"

[McKinleyL]

I loved this book because I liked the character Lucia, who was always so curious and always wondered what others were doing. I feel like I was just like her always wanting to know what others thought of me and how they were going to deal with others at the school. I enjoyed it when Leslie and Robert were picking their students for their team because it is like some sports tryouts that I have done and can relate too. I loved the details and specific examples Kristen Tracey used to describe the events.

[Yamile Méndez]

I didn't like the main character at all. I kept reading because Mint was interesting and I wanted her to be okay. The writing was great, but the characters, except for Mint, Jagger and Todd were very obnoxious.

[Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know Kristen, and I love to read her books. It makes me miss her less because I feel like I've gotten inside her brain and had a little talk with her.

[Brenda Kahn]

Reviewing for SLJ

[Uchechi · Rating 4 out of 5]

kinda confusing at times, but is great

[Iryna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too Cool For this School by Kristen Tracy is the best book ever. I will definitely re-read this book again and again.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute new JR fiction read.

[Sanjali Ahuja · Rating 5 out of 5]

COOOOOOLLLL is the best adjective to describe this book! :-)

[Stephanie Bourbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the MG voice in this book. It was fun, light and I think that any mg kid will love it.