Smart Girls Don't Wear Mascara

by Cecily Anne Paterson

Abby Smart is planning to have the most awesome year ever. She's the leader of the Smart Girls Club and after winning the talent quest, her dream to be a musical singer looks like it might come true.

And then Stella turns up, fluttering her mascara eyelashes.

She’s way too cool for little old Kangaroo Valley. Worst of all, she’s making Abby’s friends like ridiculous things such as makeup and new music! Abby’s plans to have a great year are being turned into dog food. Will Abby follow her friends, or follow her dreams? Because she can’t have both.

After all, Smart Girls don’t wear mascara!

246 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2018

About the author

Cecily Anne Paterson is the author of eight novels for young teen girls, as well as an award-winning memoir for adults.

Her first novel Invisible, was a semifinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards in 2014, and 'Charlie Franks is A-OK' won the CALEB Award in 2017.

Cecily writes 'brave-hearted fiction', hitting some serious issues, but in an age-appropriate, clean, and helpful way, and always with a hopeful ending.

Cecily grew up in Pakistan, where she went to boarding school in the Himalayan mountains, and now lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband, four children and a cuddly dog.

Reviews

[Margo James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very insight coming of age story of a young and talented girl just on the cusp of becoming a teenager. Learning about yourself, all the good, bad, and ugly, is incredibly hard. I have never had the courage to be introspective, just lived the best I could, but never thought much about how I appeared to others, or how I affected them. For a twelve year old to stuggle with this is just another sign of how hard this generation has in finding their footing. Very astute insight by the author, maybe a little above the ages of the children in the story, but maybe not. I think anyone of any age can learn a thing or two from this book. I may be old, but there was a wise lesson I learned from reading this. Great storytelling. Thank you for your wonderful writing.

[Donalyn]

Yet another amazing book by Cecily... I started off having mixed feelings about main character Abby but grew to like her later on....this is an excellent book with great lessons for children, preteens, teens and even adults. It tells about staying true to yourself whilst dealing with very realistic life problems. For me it was somewhat different how Abby solved her problem than the typical bully story which makes this book unique to me as in the end the solution wasn't definite but more of a beginning..new start which is realistic since all our problems don't vanish overnight...I'd recommend this book to anyone and read it more than once for sure...great job Cecily!

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited to be able to read an ARC copy of this book, and over all it was a very enjoyable read! I think it would be great for girls 9 up. This book tells the story of Abby Smart as she starts year six with her two best friends, and is a great story of how even though friendships can change, you need to stay true to yourself. I enjoyed reading this book, however I found it hard to relate with Abby. This is just my personal opinion, as I like to fully connect with my character and go on a journey with them throughout the book, and found it hard to do this with Abby as she is written as a bossy character. However, in saying that, I fully understand and appreciate that Cecily does develop Abby's character throughout the book. It was a very entertaining book, and I am sure that others will be able to connect with Abby even though I didn't.

[Ruth Hellyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the ARC of "Smart Girls Don't Wear Mascara" by Cecily Anne Paterson. The characters are real and relatable, and this book would suit girls from 8+. It is a story with preteen angst and emotional struggle, about who Abby Smart is, where she fits in, and what she REALLY wants to do. It is about friendship, growing up, making decisions, coping with change and working out how to be in the world you are in. AND it's a good story about people with strengths and weaknesses. What will Abby do when her world falls apart? Smart Girls Don't Wear Mascara

[Bobbi Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Paterson has done it again. A coming of age sort of story that is so much more than just a quick gloss over of how life is for sixth-grade girls. It explores the feelings and delves into the whys and what nows that young people experience. From fitting in to being true to yourself - it's all there. It brought back memories of grade school and how difficult life can seem. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'll be passing it along to my granddaughter. She starts 7th grade this fall. The timing couldn't be better! I received a digital copy prior to release free of charge as an advance reader copy.

[Lynnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cecily Paterson's "Smart Girls Don't Wear Mascara" is a real book for real girls. Whilst Abby Smart isn't the typical trail blazer that graces the halls of fame of amightygirl.com it could be argued that her journey is a tougher one than many in history, where the challenges were often more easily identified. Abby Smart not only had to navigate her way through identifying her challenges but also accept that in identifying those challenges that she could choose to remain the same or journey to a better, braver self. Paterson's use of the term "Braveheart" to address her readers encourages those readers to be brave of heart - just like Abby Smart.

[Annie-JoElizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reasons why Smart Girls Don't Wear Mascara earned five stars from me:

1) My eleven-year-old self would have been over the moon about the story line and the characters and the Australian setting. She would have seen a little bit of herself in the story for sure. (She also wasn't a fan of mascara. :P)
2) Complicated, flawed main characters who actually develop into heroines are my favourites. Always.
3) Friendship groups are my second-favourites.
4) Also yay for Annie references and girls who both study hard and dream big.

Cecily's novels are more than cute middle-grade fiction: they are kind and empowering and wise. You (or the young girl in your life) should go and read this. :)

[Grace Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is often what happens when you have other plans. When Stella comes to town Abby Smart's perfect year Six with perfect the perfect forever friends somehow goes up in smoke.

Abby will eventually come through, better, stronger and more confident and along the way learn some lessons about herself and about friendship.

Reading this book is so worth the time you will spent and you may find, like I did, that you are cheering for Abby and really glad you watched her grow.

[Nati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally Year Six. It will be the best year for Abby and her best friends Jessie and Buzz. But when a new girl comes to Kangaroo Valley School suddenly all go wrong in a heartbeat. Suddenly Abby has no friends and if she wants them back she must change. A great book about friendship, growing up and be yourself. A must read for teenagers.

[Els · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to have the opportunity to read a free review copy of Smart Girls Don't Wear Mascara, having read Cecily Anne Paterson's other books. I enjoyed reading about how Abby learned along the way and realised that the best thing to do is to be yourself. This book is great for 10-12 year olds!

[Laura Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was splendidly written. Abby came alive on the page within seconds. It is painful, that moment in childhood when our blissful sense feeling at one with the world crumbles away and we see ourselves as painfully alien. Our girls need books like this, full of depth, truth, and hope.

[Sarah Guscott · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this an incredibly difficult book to like. The protagonist was bossy and unlikeable and much of the story seemed very removed from what my own experiences of Grade 6 or my children’s experiences of Grade 6 have been. There were parts throughout the story that just did not ring true.

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.
The characters were so rich that they started to feel like real people!

I recommend this book ages 9+.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

[Jem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read.

[Chloe]

AMAZINGGG AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[AD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been delighted to receive and read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
Abby is the main character in this story – a young, ambitious girl just starting sixth grade, and I have to confess that in the beginning she comes across as not completely likeable. In a way, this is a good thing – she’s a very real character who is a sometimes sweet girl, but who is very self-absorbed and quite bossy! But you should definitely read on, as you will grow to like and understand her more as you see the challenges she faces. What’s really lovely is that she actually grows throughout the course of the story and by the end you see she has developed more thoughtfulness towards others (which is something we all hope to do in life, I think).
This book is perfect for young girls (I’m thinking as young as Year 3 up to Year 6) as they will really relate to the challenges that friendships can pose. I think this book demonstrates some excellent ideas for how people can be better friends to others and how they can stay true to their own unique interests and hopes at the same time.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and am looking forward to having a copy in the school library I work in.

Abby Smart is a great character, very relatable and recognisable. I think we've all known (or been) an Abby. So confident, so...bossy (but not in a mean way), so sure of herself.

But new girl Stella upsets everything. She steals Abby's best friends, turns them into different people (people Abby isn't overly fond of, and who wear MASCARA of all things), and even tells Abby to stop doing the thing she loves to do most of all, singing. Or else Abby can't hang around with them.

Reading with adult eyes and experiences and perspective, I saw so much of what makes those middle-grade years challenging when you're passing through them. Reading with child-eyes, there was a lot that brought up many of those old uncomfortable feelings all over again: how lonely it feels when you don't have any friends, how it feels when you did have friends but you've lost them, how confusing it is when you're trying to figure out what the heck is going on and why everything is changing and what it feels like to do the things your friends want to do, want you to do, even when they're squishing you into a matchbox that isn't the right size or even shape for you.

I'm really, really glad I had the opportunity to review this ARC, and would recommend it for readers aged 10+.