What do you think?
Rate this book
The Friendship Ring #3
Not That I Care
As she waits to present the ten items that she has chosen for an assignment to represent who she is, seventh-grader Morgan Miller recalls the events in her life that led to her choices
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
9 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Vail
56 books457 followersBirth
I was born on July 25, 1966, in NEW YORK CITY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jon. (And down the street from my future husband, though of course I didn't know that until much later.)
Interests
Some details, I do know-I was very into reading and theater, so I read every book I could get my hands on (especially realistic fiction, either contemporary or historical) and took acting workshops and auditioned for every play in school, camp, or the community. I played Peter Pan, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and lots of extremely memorable chorus parts-for instance, I was "girl number two" in Fiddler on the Roof-the one who said "We heard about your sister, Chava". I didn't care -I just wanted to be on stage. Waiting backstage before curtain call, after giving my all in a performance, was the best feeling I knew. In seventh grade I started taking magic lessons, and by eighth grade I was making all my own spending money by performing at kids' birthday parties as a clown named Tallulah. I liked the freedom of wearing all that grease-paint-I could be as wacky and un-cool as I wanted. I tried dance but felt so clumsy. I faked a sprained ankle to get out of the recital. I took voice lessons which made me a little light-headed (and I was afraid of the voice teacher's growling, drooling Doberman) and both saxophone and piano, neither of which I ever practiced. I did well in school but started a lot of my work at the last minute, in a crazy mad dash, so that it was never late but there were usually careless errors or areas I had to fudge. I had this idea that to work hard at something was sort of a negative, an admission that I didn't have natural talent. If I wasn't going to be Mozart and have the music (or dance, or math, or social studies term paper, or whatever) channeled through me from God, then I was just embarrassing myself by all that workmanlike effort. I didn't get over that idea until after college, by the way.
Career Ambitions
I never really planned to be a writer. I planned to be a financial wizard after learning about option-spreading at age 10, then a poet after discovering Shakespeare at 11. After overhearing "the real power is held by the lobbyists" on a class trip to Albany, I planned to become a lobbyist. Secretly, of course I always imagined myself as an actress, but that didn't seem hard or important enough, and also I worried I wasn't naturally gifted enough.
Parents
My parents were always great. I liked to make them proud, and they trusted me and supported my efforts and interests, which was sometimes weirdly tough. There was so little for me to rebel against.
As a Kid
When people ask me what I was as a kid, I always feel like my answer is at best incomplete.What are you like, as a kid? I'm still trying to figure out what I'm like as an adult.
Socially
Well, things went in waves. Sometimes I felt very "in", very aware of and tied in to the whole scene, excited by who liked whom, all the gossip, some of it less than kind. Other times I felt so alone-like there was nobody like me, nobody who liked me, nobody to talk to. And much of the time it was somewhere in between. A best friend when I was lucky, and a few people in each crowd I liked and who liked me. I resisted being classified as a brain or a jock or alternative or popular-too limiting. I would have to shut down too many parts of myself to be just one type.
Adolescence
I went through a very intense stage in middle school (Junior High). I worried about being too ordinary. I also worried about being too weird. I also worried about changing states of matter, my inability to be morally certain, ignorance (my own and world-wide), and making a fool of myself.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rachel...
I was born on July 25, 1966, in NEW YORK CITY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jon. (And down the street from my future husband, though of course I didn't know that until much later.)
Interests
Some details, I do know-I was very into reading and theater, so I read every book I could get my hands on (especially realistic fiction, either contemporary or historical) and took acting workshops and auditioned for every play in school, camp, or the community. I played Peter Pan, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and lots of extremely memorable chorus parts-for instance, I was "girl number two" in Fiddler on the Roof-the one who said "We heard about your sister, Chava". I didn't care -I just wanted to be on stage. Waiting backstage before curtain call, after giving my all in a performance, was the best feeling I knew. In seventh grade I started taking magic lessons, and by eighth grade I was making all my own spending money by performing at kids' birthday parties as a clown named Tallulah. I liked the freedom of wearing all that grease-paint-I could be as wacky and un-cool as I wanted. I tried dance but felt so clumsy. I faked a sprained ankle to get out of the recital. I took voice lessons which made me a little light-headed (and I was afraid of the voice teacher's growling, drooling Doberman) and both saxophone and piano, neither of which I ever practiced. I did well in school but started a lot of my work at the last minute, in a crazy mad dash, so that it was never late but there were usually careless errors or areas I had to fudge. I had this idea that to work hard at something was sort of a negative, an admission that I didn't have natural talent. If I wasn't going to be Mozart and have the music (or dance, or math, or social studies term paper, or whatever) channeled through me from God, then I was just embarrassing myself by all that workmanlike effort. I didn't get over that idea until after college, by the way.
Career Ambitions
I never really planned to be a writer. I planned to be a financial wizard after learning about option-spreading at age 10, then a poet after discovering Shakespeare at 11. After overhearing "the real power is held by the lobbyists" on a class trip to Albany, I planned to become a lobbyist. Secretly, of course I always imagined myself as an actress, but that didn't seem hard or important enough, and also I worried I wasn't naturally gifted enough.
Parents
My parents were always great. I liked to make them proud, and they trusted me and supported my efforts and interests, which was sometimes weirdly tough. There was so little for me to rebel against.
As a Kid
When people ask me what I was as a kid, I always feel like my answer is at best incomplete.What are you like, as a kid? I'm still trying to figure out what I'm like as an adult.
Socially
Well, things went in waves. Sometimes I felt very "in", very aware of and tied in to the whole scene, excited by who liked whom, all the gossip, some of it less than kind. Other times I felt so alone-like there was nobody like me, nobody who liked me, nobody to talk to. And much of the time it was somewhere in between. A best friend when I was lucky, and a few people in each crowd I liked and who liked me. I resisted being classified as a brain or a jock or alternative or popular-too limiting. I would have to shut down too many parts of myself to be just one type.
Adolescence
I went through a very intense stage in middle school (Junior High). I worried about being too ordinary. I also worried about being too weird. I also worried about changing states of matter, my inability to be morally certain, ignorance (my own and world-wide), and making a fool of myself.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rachel...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 19, 2011
i LOVED this book. it was perfect.
all of the thoughts in a girl's head while she's waiting to do one of those ice breaker "share bag" activities, changing her mind about what she brought, remembering all the stories of her things, and analyzing the relationships between herself and her classmates as they present their bags. SO GOOD.
all of the thoughts in a girl's head while she's waiting to do one of those ice breaker "share bag" activities, changing her mind about what she brought, remembering all the stories of her things, and analyzing the relationships between herself and her classmates as they present their bags. SO GOOD.
January 15, 2020
When I was 13 this was my favorite book. I wish I could find it and read it again.
December 30, 2022
This is Morgan's story. It is told in a very creative way. Remember the school project we've heard about since book 1? Well, this book basically takes place during the presentation of the project "Bring Yourself in a Sack" Students have to gather 10 things that represent the best parts of them and put them inside a brown bag provided to students. Morgan had no idea they would have to get in front of the class and explain each of the items they chose.
As students are called and she is nervously awaiting her turn she recounts each of the items and how they are so tied to herself and situations of the past that led to her current situation. We are presented with flashbacks to various situations from previous books from Morgan's perspective as well as new insight into her life. We also learn that some things she has said, like the reason why she broke up with Tommy were actually made up by her. But since we are in her point of view we learn the truth. We also get to see new scenes from her life.
This very same morning, she realized CJ has dumped her as best friend and replaced her with Zoe. Morgan hasn't had an easy life. Her father cheated on her mother and left the family to move to California with his new girlfriend in pursuit of a Hollywood career. Her mother works and studies and doesn't have time for her. She doesn't get along with her brother, and her best friend has dumped her. After much deliberation and a mini-mental breakdown in the girl's bathroom. Morgan decides to go ahead and present the items she had chosen, but since they are tied to such intimate details of her life, she decides to keep some explanations vague and others she entirely makes up on the spot. When she's about to finish her presentation she realizes one of the items is missing, she only has 9! That's when she realizes something important, and blurts it out, earning the approval of the teacher, who never gives approval to anyone. The most important part of her is yet to be discovered. She's only in 7th grade after all!
As students are called and she is nervously awaiting her turn she recounts each of the items and how they are so tied to herself and situations of the past that led to her current situation. We are presented with flashbacks to various situations from previous books from Morgan's perspective as well as new insight into her life. We also learn that some things she has said, like the reason why she broke up with Tommy were actually made up by her. But since we are in her point of view we learn the truth. We also get to see new scenes from her life.
This very same morning, she realized CJ has dumped her as best friend and replaced her with Zoe. Morgan hasn't had an easy life. Her father cheated on her mother and left the family to move to California with his new girlfriend in pursuit of a Hollywood career. Her mother works and studies and doesn't have time for her. She doesn't get along with her brother, and her best friend has dumped her. After much deliberation and a mini-mental breakdown in the girl's bathroom. Morgan decides to go ahead and present the items she had chosen, but since they are tied to such intimate details of her life, she decides to keep some explanations vague and others she entirely makes up on the spot. When she's about to finish her presentation she realizes one of the items is missing, she only has 9! That's when she realizes something important, and blurts it out, earning the approval of the teacher, who never gives approval to anyone. The most important part of her is yet to be discovered. She's only in 7th grade after all!
February 14, 2014
Rachel Vail has started her book in Morgan's class room during their homework presentations. Morgan has a troubled background. Her father has left her family and her mother is very hard on Morgan. Her family does not have a lot of money which causes her to not have the same things that her friends have. Morgan is the youngest of her family. She feels like she is always wrong because she is always criticized by her mother.Morgan is a lot like kids in society today.
Through out the book, Morgan's assignment causes her to remember different things that reminder her of her family, friends, and motivations in life. She tells about her mistakes that she has made, her amazing friendship with her best friend,CJ, and why she works so hard for what she has in life. Morgan constantly wants to see her mother happy and she trys her hardest for her mother's approval.
The book is a quick read and keeps you wondering. There are multiple flashbacks in this book which cause the book to be hard to understand. I believe that Vail should tell more in the flash backs so we will be able to focus more on the book rather than what had happened to Morgan through out her past. The ending was satisfying, but I do not wish to read it again. Rachel Vail's character, Morgan, is one of those characters that can reach through the pages and touch your heart.
Through out the book, Morgan's assignment causes her to remember different things that reminder her of her family, friends, and motivations in life. She tells about her mistakes that she has made, her amazing friendship with her best friend,CJ, and why she works so hard for what she has in life. Morgan constantly wants to see her mother happy and she trys her hardest for her mother's approval.
The book is a quick read and keeps you wondering. There are multiple flashbacks in this book which cause the book to be hard to understand. I believe that Vail should tell more in the flash backs so we will be able to focus more on the book rather than what had happened to Morgan through out her past. The ending was satisfying, but I do not wish to read it again. Rachel Vail's character, Morgan, is one of those characters that can reach through the pages and touch your heart.
September 4, 2013
I purchased the first and second book in this series as part of the scholastic book club in elementary school. It came with a replica of the friendship ring, a granny knot in silver, which I wore well into high school.
The characters in these books aren't all that different from many young adult characters. They're unsure of themselves, they want friends, they're curious about new things, etc. However, I enjoyed reading about them and they passed the time nicely.
The characters in these books aren't all that different from many young adult characters. They're unsure of themselves, they want friends, they're curious about new things, etc. However, I enjoyed reading about them and they passed the time nicely.
November 5, 2023
Leí dos libros de esta saga cuando tenía como 12 años y los AMÉ. Quiero encontrarlos y volver a leerlos, igual me da miedo que no me gusten o no sean tan buenos como recuerdo !!!
February 22, 2008
A quick read about an adolescent girl dealing with the divorce of her parents and the divorce of a friendship. She may be a bit more moody about the friendship than needed, but aren't most adolescent girls?
Want to read
September 17, 2007I would love to read this book 2!!!
November 25, 2009
Circle of friends starting grade 7. Nice Stories
December 11, 2009
well............ it was realistic i guess...... just kinda.... one of those ... books know what i mean?
Read
August 9, 2011Rachel Vail is an AWESOME YA novelist -- one of the best around.
February 21, 2015
awesome
February 10, 2017
Stereotypical teenage girl premise, which I quite enjoyed reading when I was 10-11 years old. The story is told in a series of flashbacks over the course of a day in which the protagonist (Morgan?) has to present a "back-to-school" assignment consisting of items that represent who she is and/or important facets of her life. While the setting, plot, and conflicts are not original, this narrative technique created a powerful emotional impact as she revealed the strong sentiments and sad memories summoned by the most mundane objects. This aspect would become even more prevalent after I emigrated and became attached to objects that connected me to a past distanced by miles rather than time.
Is it a great novel? Not really. But it did have a lasting effect on me.
Is it a great novel? Not really. But it did have a lasting effect on me.
July 4, 2020
This book is a creative look at the minds of Pre-teen children, how they see life, deal with stressors and can sometimes misunderstand what they think they see. The characters are relatable but occasionally the main character makes poor or risky choices in an attempt to find a way to control her world. She manipulates her friends, lies, steals, fights and does some extremely cautionary things. Not a book that I would feel comfortable giving to an impressionable child, or my pre-teen granddaughter daughter.
The ending is strong and well written.
The ending is strong and well written.
August 24, 2021
It was a book series that I enjoyed much when I was in my early teens.
March 26, 2025
Me ha gustado tanto como me gustó con 15 años. O 20. Solo recuerdo que era de mis favoritos antes de irme a Madrid. Es para adolescentes pero me ha hecho pensar. Qué mierda es ser una insegura.
July 19, 2022
Primera vez leído (2011): 5 estrellas.
Segunda vez leído (08-28/Nov/2021): 4 estrellas.
Ya saben, aún así se queda en cinco estrellas.
Ok, guau. Este fue EL PRIMER LIBRO, EL PRIMERITO que leí por mi cuenta, que leí por gusto. Recuerdo entrando con mi mamá a la librería Porrúa que antes se encontraba en Alonso (Gto) y a ella preguntando en el mostrador por libros para adolescentes. Recuerdo que me encantó, mucho, siempre me gustó la idea de la idea de los objetos en la bolsa que hablaran de un pedazo de ella y se me quedó y muy marcado ese último objeto que no estaba en la bolsa, y a la chica decir que era lo aún faltaba por vivir.
Y bueno, ahora que lo volví a leer, me siguió gustando. Creo que la autora es MUY buena al crear a toda esta personaje, tomando obviamente como referencia esta actividad que pondrá en la historia. Ha de haber sido divertido realizar el ejercicio pero incluso difícil.
Me sigue gustando la idea de la actividad que deja la profesora, creo que todos deberíamos realizar aquella actividad algunas veces en nuestra vida. Me gusta cómo nos va llevando por todo un viaje de la personaje y nos va mostrando partes de su vida, y cómo las personas a su alrededor tienen parte de su historia.
Sí creo que es un muy bonito acercamiento para comenzar a leer, la persona que le recomendó ese libro a mi mamá, mis respetos jajaja y que mi mamá lo haya comprado.
Y también puedo entender que me haya gustado tanto el libro, ahora que lo vuelvo a leer puedo entender que no solo fue la idea original, sino el hecho de que me estaba encontrando e identificando en un 110% con la personaje principal. Esta muy fuerte, veo muchas cosas de Morgan en la adolescente que era, y que incluso aún están por ahí.
Ahora, esto es un tanto difícil porque... La razón de ponerle cinco estrellas es que... Si estamos hablando de que este libro es un acercamiento a la lectura para los adolescentes, no me gusta que sea este personaje. Se me hace que tiene acciones y pensamientos muy tóxicos que afectan a las personas, y tiene una forma de asimilar la situaciones muy... Inmaduras, tajantes e hirientes. Se que es una adolescente pero se me hace un mal ejemplo para los demás. Y es irónico que diga esto tomando en cuenta que digo que me recuerda a mí, sobre todo de adolescente, pero creo que más bien es por eso que lo digo, porque se que pensar y actuar así no lleva a buenas cosas jajaja
Segunda vez leído (08-28/Nov/2021): 4 estrellas.
Ya saben, aún así se queda en cinco estrellas.
Ok, guau. Este fue EL PRIMER LIBRO, EL PRIMERITO que leí por mi cuenta, que leí por gusto. Recuerdo entrando con mi mamá a la librería Porrúa que antes se encontraba en Alonso (Gto) y a ella preguntando en el mostrador por libros para adolescentes. Recuerdo que me encantó, mucho, siempre me gustó la idea de la idea de los objetos en la bolsa que hablaran de un pedazo de ella y se me quedó y muy marcado ese último objeto que no estaba en la bolsa, y a la chica decir que era lo aún faltaba por vivir.
Y bueno, ahora que lo volví a leer, me siguió gustando. Creo que la autora es MUY buena al crear a toda esta personaje, tomando obviamente como referencia esta actividad que pondrá en la historia. Ha de haber sido divertido realizar el ejercicio pero incluso difícil.
Me sigue gustando la idea de la actividad que deja la profesora, creo que todos deberíamos realizar aquella actividad algunas veces en nuestra vida. Me gusta cómo nos va llevando por todo un viaje de la personaje y nos va mostrando partes de su vida, y cómo las personas a su alrededor tienen parte de su historia.
Sí creo que es un muy bonito acercamiento para comenzar a leer, la persona que le recomendó ese libro a mi mamá, mis respetos jajaja y que mi mamá lo haya comprado.
Y también puedo entender que me haya gustado tanto el libro, ahora que lo vuelvo a leer puedo entender que no solo fue la idea original, sino el hecho de que me estaba encontrando e identificando en un 110% con la personaje principal. Esta muy fuerte, veo muchas cosas de Morgan en la adolescente que era, y que incluso aún están por ahí.
Ahora, esto es un tanto difícil porque... La razón de ponerle cinco estrellas es que... Si estamos hablando de que este libro es un acercamiento a la lectura para los adolescentes, no me gusta que sea este personaje. Se me hace que tiene acciones y pensamientos muy tóxicos que afectan a las personas, y tiene una forma de asimilar la situaciones muy... Inmaduras, tajantes e hirientes. Se que es una adolescente pero se me hace un mal ejemplo para los demás. Y es irónico que diga esto tomando en cuenta que digo que me recuerda a mí, sobre todo de adolescente, pero creo que más bien es por eso que lo digo, porque se que pensar y actuar así no lleva a buenas cosas jajaja
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2023
Lo amo lo podría leer 1000 veces seguidas
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews