Juicy Gossip

Candy Apple #19

by Erin Soderberg Downing

Candy Apple books . . . just for you. Sweet. Fresh. Fun. Take a bite!

Jenna Sampson, perfectly normal seventh grader and editor of the school newspaper, is mortified. Her parents are opening a super-embarrassing juice bar at the mall. Jenna has to work there . . . and wear a ridiculous uniform. She's pretty sure her life can't get worse, until she finds out that the school paper might shut down.

But the gossip Jenna overhears from the juice bar is totally newsworthy, which gives her a great idea. A gossip column could be a huge hit and save the paper --- or cause a ton of trouble!

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile, Young Adult

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

I read and write lots of funny, adventurous, & heartwarming books for kids, tweens, and teens (and even a few romantic comedies for adults, too!) that are ultimately about finding your place, finding your people, and finding your voice. I always love book recommendations, so please send them my way. As a reader, I'm partial to contemporary romantic comedy, thrillers that keep the pages turning and have well-built characters, funny/original voices, quirky characters, and always kids' books with humor and heart.

Reviews

[Rhiannon20 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another fake book. Nothing seemed real! It's all about this girl whose parents get a juice bar restaurant at the food court in the mall. The girl hates shopping, so it's a burden, not a blessing. Then the school newspaper is in danger of being cut (Oh no! The horror!)so the girl starts a gossip section in the paper to get people to buy it, using gossip she hears from girls in the mall - gee, I don't know how that could go wrong, do you?

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kept me entertained.....I guess

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally I love this book in many different ways. I wasn't able to put the book down and when I did I was eager to get back in to it because it was probably that I was sleeping or in the car! I personally think that if you are looking to read a book in less than 24 hours and just need something to just do I recommend this book. I do not like how they didn't say who the princess and prince was at the end, but it was kinda obvious and that was just one thing out of 176 pages!

[Bunny Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

pointless

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

Although seventh grader Jenna Sampson is editor of the school paper, she couldn't feel further away from being in the know of popular topics, interests, and gossip in her school.

Her parents are opening a juice bar in the middle of the mall, and not only does Jenna hate the mall, but she doesn't even like juice. So, now that her parents are forcing her to work there three days a week (and wear a pineapple hat -- no kidding), Jenna is terrified that her nonexistent popularity could go further into the negative. That is, if anyone notices she's there.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Jenna has just found out that her beloved paper might be cut from the curriculum, along with a bunch of other activities. She writes a front page article about it, begging other students to rise up and fight the budget cuts, but she's horrified to find that no one even reads the paper that she puts so much work into.

Jenna is going to have to find some way to get the other students to take notice. Lucky for her, she seems to overhear a lot of gossip at the counter of the food court. Could a gossip column work to save the school paper?

Even though Jenna comes off as a highly eccentric heroine (sometimes distractingly so), one can appreciate her struggle as she weighs moral choices against accomplishing a worthy, selfless end.

[Jamika · Rating 4 out of 5]

What i've learned from this book is that the main character is slik.her name is Jenna Thompson and she is a normal seventh grader and her schools newspaper editor.but she and her friend Keisha just found out that the school district will have to shut down some of there curriclar activities. so Jenna starts a gossip colum called "Juicy Gossip" to try to make people read the paper more. when she thought that it was kbow use her parents opened up their smoothie shop and the two meanest girls at there school Stacy and Jasmine are at the mall close by Jenna's parents smoothie bar and she overhears there conversations and types them in the paper but when she goes to school on Monday everyone is really mad at "Miss Mango" or a.k.a Jenna but don't know who is writning these Juicy stories about everyone even though some of them like the school publicity.So Stacey and Jasmine start hanging out with Jenna to see what she knows and Keisha gets mad at Jenna becasue she thinks Jenna would rather hang out with Stacy and Jasmine. I predict that in the end everyone will know that Jenna did what she did for a good reason

[Imani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juicy Gossip is about a girl. She is head of the newspaper committee. Her parents opened a juice bar and now she is mortified, because its in the middle of the mall where everybody from school will be YIKES!!!! On top of that The newspaper might be shut down!!! In order to stop that she puts the school gossip in the newspapers so more school kids will read them, and the newspaper committee will not have to be shut down.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of my job to see what age group it would be appropriate for and I must say that it was very cute, appropriate for (I'd say) grades 4-7, and that I would actually read more of this series!

Kudos to the Candy Apple writers!

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good! Easy to relate to.........BOYS!!!!!

[Shannon Parker wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andie "the character "little miss mango" made some bad choices. the bad choices made the book interesting.

[Rachel Canning]

im reading it next

[Ecila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I WOULD BE FREAKED ABOUT THE WHOLE THING IF I WAS HER, SHE'S GOT NERVES LIKE CALLIE!

[Candide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too bad you can't find out if Jenna and Peter get crowned King and Queen because I think they should!

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book.

[Atiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good book, full of details.

[Rashi]

cool boook with ful fun

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good; only I didn't really always get the problem.

[Gabrielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was soooooo boring!! At the time I didint realize it because this was the only book I had to read and I was desperate but this book went no where and was just boring!! Snoozer!!

[Madilyn Trimmell · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite candy apple book!!!!

[Karen Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is how you write a Candy Apple book!!

It was everything I hoped it would be. I've been craving for some quick, fun, breezy and fluffy middle grade books and this book checked all the boxes. I got even more than I expected. Witty writing, fleshed-out and diverse characters, humor and a heartwarming, important message about being yourself and doing the right thing. The ending was so satisfying and I don't think I could have worked it out any other way. The protagonist, Jenna is likeable and despite her mistakes, she is genuinely a kind person who is passionate about journalism and cares about her friends. Even though she gets sidetracked by fame and popularity from running a gossip column, she owns up to her wrongdoings and takes her punishment with a willing attitude at the end. The other characters like Keisha (her best friend/confidante), Stacey (the mean popular girl with hidden layers), Michael (the mean boy/initial love interest) and Peter (the new love interest with Jenna's best interests at heart) were all well-written and I found myself caring about them a lot. Even though there were some unsavoury characters and mean behaviour at first, Jenna's act of bravery at the end to put the interests of the school and her best friend before her own showed me that she has major character growth.

Honestly, this book reminded me so much of the Barbie Diaries which is in itself a masterpiece. The clique, the gossip, secret infiltration and friendships etc. I was stunned by the similarities. Love, love, love it!

Thank you, Internet Archive.

[schnoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touched on a lot of topics I thought were great for both middle schoolers (the demographic) and adults! Included:
- Wanting to fit in
- The cost of feeling seen
- Stereotyping others
- The importance of apologizing
- Supportive parents and healthy communication

4.5

[brienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I like that the newspaper is ‘getting popular’, I don’t like that Jenna is writing gossips. It’s just... so.... rude. I give it a 3/5

[Samaira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg this book is so iconic. highly recccomend.

[Ynya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for any middle schoolers out there. Some characters were portrayed in a weird way, but overall a great read. The ending is nice too.

[Jen Selinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenna Sampson is the editor of the Washington Middle School newspaper. When school budget cuts threaten the paper and other school-related activities, Jenna knows she has to take a stand. She then creates a gossip column, using the pen name “Little Miss Mango.” Once her best friend, Keisha, and some of the popular girls read the column, they make it a mission to find out who “Little Miss Mango” really is. Can Jenna keep both her “secret identity” and her friends? Will she be able to save the school newspaper? Read "Juicy Gossip" to find out.

[Hattie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Personally, I hated this book. There is not much character development, literary elements, etc. i know it's a kid book but there are hundreds of books out there for kids that are sweet and well-written with great heroes/heroines.

[Hazim]

This book was good and embarassing for the main chararcther. She has to fake a lot of embarassing stuff.

[Charlene Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

its starting off good

[Faith Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good so far!!

[Savindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!