Julie: The Big Break

American Girl: Julie #1-3

by Megan McDonald

It's 1974, and Julie Albright has just moved to a new neighborhood and started at a new school. So when she finds out the basketball team is "boys only," Julie is determined to fight for her right to play. Will a petition with 150 names be enough to make the coach change his mind and give her a chance?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Juvenile, Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2014

About the author

"Sometimes I think I am Judy Moody," says Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody series, the Stink series, and THE SISTERS CLUB. "I'm certainly moody, like she is. Judy has a strong voice and always speaks up for herself. I like that."

For Megan McDonald, being able to speak up for herself wasn't always easy. She grew up as the youngest of five sisters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, an ironworker, was known to his coworkers as "Little Johnny the Storyteller." Every evening at dinner the McDonalds would gather to talk and tell stories, but Megan McDonald was barely able to get a word in edgewise. "I'm told I began to stutter," she says, leading her mother to give her a notebook so she could start "writing things down."


Critically acclaimed, the Judy Moody books have won numerous awards, ranging from a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year to an International Reading Association Children's Choice. "Judy has taken on a life of her own," the author notes, with nearly 3 million Judy Moody books in print. Interestingly, the feisty third-grader is highly popular with boys and girls, making for a strong base of fans who are among Megan McDonald's strongest incentives to keep writing, along with "too many ideas and a little chocolate." And now -- by popular demand -- Judy Moody's little brother, Stink, gets his chance to star in his own adventures! Beginning with STINK: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING KID, three more stories, and his own encyclopedia, STINK-O-PEDIA, Stink's special style comes through loud and strong -- enhanced by a series of comic strips, drawn by Stink himself, which are sprinkled throughout the first book. About the need for a book all about Stink, Megan McDonald says, "Once, while I was visiting a class full of Judy Moody readers, the kids, many with spiked hair à la Judy's little brother, chanted, 'Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink!' as I entered the room. In that moment, I knew that Stink had to have a book all his own."


More recently, Megan McDonald has recalled some of her own childhood with the warmth, humor -- and squabbles -- of three spunky sisters in THE SISTERS CLUB.


Megan McDonald and her husband live in Sebastopol, California, with two dogs, two adopted horses, and fifteen wild turkeys that like to hang out on their back porch.

Reviews

[Rebecca]

The story was good but I'm not a huge fan of turning the original books into the Beforever format. The first two stories fit pretty seamlessly together, but the last story didn't really fit. Most of the historical note is gone too. There are literally only two pages in this book about the historical time. It really only talked about Title IV, but didn't include the real people in situation like Julie's as the original books did. And all the holiday information that relate to the last story wasn't included.

[Coleccionista de finales tristes · Rating 4 out of 5]

De las historias de beforever creo que es esta mi segunda favorita después de Addy. Lastima que sea una versión abreviada

Julie es una niña que crece en San Francisco en los años 70s. Sus padres se acaban de divorciar . Es la época en la que las mujeres empiezan a conservar su apellido familiar y no el apellido del esposo.

Lo mejor de estos libros es que al final traen unas pocas páginas de información sobre la época

[Catalina Bilandzija · Rating 4 out of 5]

hey. your reminder to read a children’s book every now and then.

[Emma Snipes · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a short and cute book!!! :)
I loved everything about this book!! There’s so many words to describe how much I liked this!! It was really cute!!!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

for work

[Azra's Book Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book shows how the mind set for women was in 1974 and is really good

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I have seen some American Girl movies, which I mostly liked, this is the first American Girl book I have ever read. Author Meghan McDonald does a good job telling the story of Julie, who has to deal with moving, going to a new school, sex discrimination, and being a child of divorced parents. All the references to the 1970s seem pretty natural in the story, too. It’s not one of those “historical fiction” books where the author obviously has a long list of research notes about a time period, and then proceeds to cram in historical facts left and right, making them stick out like sore thumbs.

What is wrong with this well-written story? Well, it’s not something that is actually wrong as it is unbelievable. At least it will be unbelievable to many children of divorce, particularly back in the 1970s. Julie’s parents get along so well in this story. There is no animosity whatsoever between them, no anger when Julie’s father misses events, no bad-mouthing, no serious complaints or concerns about money. In the 1970s, divorce was not yet that common, and there was not yet a great deal of parenting advice about helping children deal with divorce. Thus, many parents were mostly focused on their own feelings, not the feelings of their children, and many of those parents were angry or playing victim.

In addition, the pet rabbit in the story is treated and behaved more like a stuffed animal. Julie has to leave her rabbit behind with her father, who is a busy airline pilot. Supposedly, Julie’s best friend Ivy will take care of the rabbit when he is off on flights. The rabbit, who once lived inside, is now put outside in a hutch. When Julie stays on the weekend, though, she brings the rabbit inside, and the rabbit apparently just sits in her favorite place--a laundry basket. Yeah, sure. That scenario is totally unrealistic, and Julie never expresses any real concern about the situation either. It’s like the entire story--everything will be okay and work out well. Oh my, now I don’t have all the positive feelings I had about American Girl stories before reading this book.

(Note: I received a free copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a really great kid's book. It follows the story of Julie growing up in the mid 1970s. Her parents have gotten divorced and she is moving to a new apartment with her mother and her older sister. Julie is worried about starting over at a new school and wants to keep in touch with her best friend Ivy. Julie finds it hard to balance living with her mom during the week and seeing her father on the weekends. Julie's sister does not want to join her at their father's on the weekend and Julie does not understand why her sister is so angry.

This book would have really helped me as a child. I think it is a really great read for any kid who is going through or has already experienced divorce.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expanded version of the original first Julie book, The Big Break is all about the 1974 American Girl doll. The story is well-written and has lots of little callouts to the time period. The last couple pages give non-fiction information about life as Julie would’ve experienced it and explains why certain things were included (like Julie struggling with her parents’ divorce and working to get on the boy’s basketball team at school). I recommend this book to kids who enjoy American Girl books. It makes an excellent family read-aloud!

[Emma Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why it's taken me so long to read Julie's books, but here I am! I enjoyed the 70s vibes, and also appreciated its exploration of how hard divorce is on kids, while also providing a hopeful way to move forward. While it wasn't my favorite historical character book, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

~This book contains~
-Divorce as a prominent plot line
-Brief use of phrase "male chauvinist pig"

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughters have read all the AG books and this was my first one. I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I just related...same name, same generation, divorced parents, California raised, I even did my 4th grade bio on the same person (Clara Barton). I thought this was well done and honestly looked at what it is like to be a child of divorce without being overly dramatic.

[Amorette Novoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good it’s about this girl name Julie her parents are divorced and she goes to a new school has a basketball team where she loves basketball her life starts changing and now she is meeting a lot of new people and then Julie finally find her place in 1970‘s San Francisco if you like stories that are non-fiction

[Tammy Landgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Julie was a sweet character and fun to read about. I liked that this book covered both social issues that were relevant in the '70s (women's rights, the stigma of divorce), as well as political issues (Watergate, Vietnam war). It still manages to be relatable to modern girls though.

[Ansley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really good book I definitely recommend it. It has a section at the end talking about what it was like when Julie was growing up so it's even a bit educational. I loved it and American Girl Doll books aren't even my thing.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this! it was hard to tell how this originally was a few shorter books. i kind of like the more compiled, complex stories. or maybe molly’s are just less fun.
honestly, julie’s my new favorite. (keep in mind: i’ve only read two girls’ stories this year so this isn’t well informed)

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow but my 5 year old loved it

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book Julie faces her fears and talks about her parents divorce!!!

[Lexyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book, that shows if you believe in yourself that you can do anything.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was good.I have the doll.

[Halle Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago I remember liking it a lot!

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's cool because Julie stands up for herself!" -Cadee, age 11

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

never liked julie’s books. basketball… meh.

[cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD!!!!!!

[Jasper McCabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I'm an adult and enjoyed it :) better than the Julie mini movie by far

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, a flashback to 1974. My granddaughter and I read this together.
Encouraging her to find confidence and motivation to read.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

first book i actually ever read and it got me into history and it’s the whole reason i read nowadays

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0

[Avery Denault · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that she did not let other people tell her what she could do or could not.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book, I read it when I was around 10, and I loved it. It can be suitable for all ages. Very good book and very inspiring to young girls around the world.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course everything American Girl touches turns to gold right? Pretty much! As a fan of the dolls and the delight they bring to me and my daughter, I was overjoyed when I was recently given a Julie doll as a gift. With it came this book and I immediately read it so that I could appreciate the story of the doll even more. When I brought the book out to my daughter to read she said "Mom, you read it all last night?"

The book is a short read and touches upon life in the 1970's when I was a little girl. Also, Julie is the first character (not sure if there have been other dolls since) where she has to deal with the divorce of her parents. I liked that the author touched on hardships that girls of all walks of life experience.