Let Me Fix That for You

by Janice Erlbaum

Janice Erlbaum's Let Me Fix That for You is a quirky, touching, and laugh-out-loud middle-grade novel about a girl capable of fixing everything but her own life.

Twelve-year-old Gladys Burke may not have many friends, but at least she has her empire. From her table at the back of the cafeteria, Glad arranges favors for her classmates in exchange for their friendship. She solves every problem, handles every situation, and saves every butt.

But the jobs keep getting harder, and when Glad decides the problem that most needs fixing is her parents' relationship, she finds herself in way over her head. She'll have to call in all her favors and use all her skills to help the person who most needs it--herself.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, School

304 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2019

About the author

Janice Erlbaum writes books, some of which are for tweens, others of which are for adults. She produces a weekly video series called "Advice for Young Writers."

Her books for adults include two memoirs, GIRLBOMB: A Halfway Homeless Memoir (Villard, March ’06), and HAVE YOU FOUND HER: A Memoir (Villard, Feb. ’08), and one novel, I, LIAR (Thought Catalog Books, 2015).

For tweens, her first novel, LUCKY LITTLE THINGS was published by MacMillan Books for Young Readers in July '18. Her next tween book, LET ME FIX THAT FOR YOU, is coming in July '19.

Her poetry and prose have been featured in anthologies including ALOUD: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café, THE BUST GUIDE TO THE NEW GIRL ORDER, THE BEST AMERICAN EROTIC POEMS FROM 1800 TO THE PRESENT, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHER’S HANDBOOK: The 826 National Guide to Writing Your Memoir, and VERSES THAT HURT: Pleasure and Pain from the POEMFONE Poets.

She was a contributor to BUST magazine from 1994 through 2007. Her work has been featured in Glamour, Redbook, Marie Claire, Elle, Elle UK, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Post, The New York Daily News, and New York Times. Janice teaches memoir writing and has addressed audiences at colleges, coffee houses, and theaters across the East Coast. She lives in her native New York City.

Reviews

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Stood Out To Me:
As a person who has always wanted to "fix" situations, I could relate to this book. Gladys seemed like a sweet child who does want to help others. When she figures out that some things are beyond fixing, it's hard for her to take. And Gladys' mother...Oooh! Just can't understand her leaving her family behind to go "find herself".
Memorable Quotes:
(pg.52)-"If you're going to cry in front of anybody it should be me, the human version of the say-no-evil monkey, my paws permanently clasped over my mouth."
(pg.187)-"My heart is now a prisoner banging its metal cup against the bars of my ribs."

I think middle-grade readers would really enjoy this one!

[Danielle Slate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this! It was really relatable to my life. The book kept me entertained the whole time. I will definitely be reading more of the authors books.

[Gracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

thirteen year old me would’ve loved this book as much as thirty year old me did.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun middle grade book. My favorite parts were the "Dad makeover" attempts.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relatable and a quick read, if a little too neatly wrapped up.

[Lilyana Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book loved the story line. Good for a rainy day

[Sophia Casillas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Let Me Fix That For You by Janice Erlbaum is a story about a girl named Gladys. All the people ask her for help when they have problems. She likes to help people but all she is trying to do is make friends. A connection I have with Gladys is I am not always friends with the popular people. A theme I feel that would go with this story is, you should never let people use you if you are not comfortable with it. I recommend this book to all middle school students and people who never get to have the greatest friends because this story will teach you something that you probably never knew.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this book didn't strike me as being my jam when I took it home from the library but I thought it might be a good one to book talk and boy was I in for a surprise! I could not put it down last night and went to bed way late. I absolutely adored this book! So many things going on here that young middle schoolers can relate to. The main character's voice is so funny and witty. Glad, the main character, thinks she can find friends by helping people solve their problems, often by creating clever lies or what she calls "stories". She doesn't yet understand how to help people help themselves. Her mom is a giant flake. I wanted to reach in the book, grab that mom and ask her what the hell you ding bat? I am recommending it to kids and pitching it for a read aloud.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are plenty of folks out here who will recognize themselves in Gladys, the twelve-year-old protagonist in this book. Glad has become known as a fixer in her middle grade class, someone who can come up with solutions to tricky problems or a way to avoid facing the consequences of one's actions. Glad is happy to help out her classmates, hoping that the favors she does will end up resulting in friendships. But that doesn't seem to happen. Even at home her older sister, Mabey, expects her to cover for her. When she learns that her mother is coming for a visit, Glad decides that her father is due for a makeover so that her parents will realize how perfect they are for each other. But all this fixing is taking a toll on Glad, and she buckles under the pressure, especially when she realizes that Sophie Nelson, a classmate with a tendency to take things, has been using her. I appreciated how messy Glad's life becomes even though she has good intentions and how she comes to realize that some folks have very good reasons for needing a situation fixed. In the end, though, Glad needs to fix herself and leave everyone else to their own devices. The author handles deftly some tough topics such as imperfect parents who often say one thing and do another, making it hard for their children to trust them. Many middle graders will enjoy this book and find a path to self-acceptance and a suggestion to leave well enough alone through its pages.

[Tiffany Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gladys (Glad) is a seventh grade with a gift for fixing other people's problems. Other students regularly approach her with a request for an excuse for getting out of a class, a secret delivery to a crush, or help with a made-up boyfriend. Glad gives these services for free in hopes that the favors will win her more friends, but that isn't happening. At home, too, she is on a mission: to convince her parents to get back together. Her mother left a couple of years ago to "find herself" on a work farm in New Mexico, hasn't come back to visit, and rarely calls. After hearing from her older sister that their mother is coming to visit in a few weeks, Glad comes up with a plan to "improve" their father so their mother will want to stay: get him to stop slurping his coffee, shave his beard, and revamp his wardrobe.
This story is non-stop fun while still having serious moments. Glad is a bright, funny "middle child" who often feels unnoticed, but her schemes at school put her in the spotlight, not only among her peers, but by the intimidating vice principal. To an adult reader, the plotline about her mom felt predictable, and Glad's worship of her sadly naive; younger readers might find more suspense in that part of the story. For me, the best part was seeing how Glad managed to survive middle school through cunning and humor, and even improve things for herself.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read this ever since I found out about it and I finally did. YAY!

Reading these books as an adult, I always wonder: Is this really what middle school is like? I suspect the answer varies middle school to middle school.

This is a good fit for readers who are looking for middle school drama books.

Content Notes:

Profanity/Swearing? The word "damn" is used several times

Sex/Sexual references? There are mentions of girls sending suggestive pictures to boyfriends. It's said that this is a bad idea and cannot be undone once sent.

Drugs/alcohol: Not present

Religious elements: Not present

LGBTQ + rep: Yes, but vague. One boy likes another boy and isn't sure how to tell him

Other things to know: This book involves an absent mother (as in she is living on a commune and says she'll keep coming back and seeing her girls but she always has an excuse why she's not there for them)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how kleptomania is presented with empathy and kindness. I also found it refreshing that Glad was willing to accept her own mistakes, and I think the overall story/message (you can't fix everyone else's problems, helping people by perpetually allowing them to escape consequences is not helpful at all, etc etc etc) could end up being really meaningful to both pushover kids and kids who don't like when events aren't under their control. This is a book I would have loved as a kid, but I really enjoyed it as an adult too.

[Em (Makenna) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay. this one was kind of interesting, but there was so much drama, it did not really make the book better in my opinion, but readers who like middle school drama books would enjoy this.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Occupational irony narratives hit the middle school set

This is a charming story about a girl who can fix everyone's problems, except her own. It is a familiar story, but a fun and sweet one.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

My girls who like MS drama will like this one. Me... I finished in a day so it did keep my interest, but there is just a little part of me that kept cringing throughout. I felt sorry for Glad too many times.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad is a fixer. She wants kids to like her and be her friend, so she figures out fixes for their problems.
But what if the fixes just make the problems worse? And can she fix her family?

[Bayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Mills College Library]

Fiction E69L 2019

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Zadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

the bomb!! a 😀😁great book! i'm adding it to my fave book list!

[cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book, just not my type.

[Marstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slow paced book I suggest reading it in fall/autumn but the ending is so worth it. 4.5 stars

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Kim Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute middle grade realistic fiction. Gladys has a lot of voice and a somewhat believable skill. Lots of typical middle school interactions in this book.

[Aliya P · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ends of some chapters and especially what favors people need definitely give you a cliffhanger to want to read more. I finished this book in 2 1/2 hours very good book and very easy to binge.

[Selma Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the humor. The way Glad was thinking of excuses on page 25 and she thought of, “What if Agnes blew up the house?” Got me rolling in the floor

[Madelyn Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked this book

[Kelci Judas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick Middle Grade read!