MILLICENT MARIE IS NOT MY NAME
by
KAREN POKRAS TOZ
about the book:
Twelve-year-old Millicent Marie does not like her name. After all, she was named for a woman who died more than fifty years ago and was not the most loveable member of the Harris family. Her friends call her Millie, but when she writes in her diary she refers to herself as Amanda – the name she always wished she had.
When Millie’s younger brother finds her diary on her computer, he decides to publish it as a blog for the entire world to see, including the boy Millie has a crush on. In the midst of all the mayhem, Millie/Amanda discovers she is suddenly Springside Elementary’s most sought after sixth-grade mystery gossip and advice columnist.
But not all is fun and games, as Millie quickly learns, once she realizes feelings are at stake. Nobody, least of all Millie, expects things to turn out as they do in this tale of friendship and respect.
My thoughts
What a fun book! Millie (aka Amanda) is an amazing character. You will love her. You will feel her anger towards her brother (the pest), her annoyance towards her mother and her feelings towards her friends and enemies at school.
Millie anonymously becomes a gossip column writer/ advice giver to the students of Springside Elementary when her brother publishes her private diary. All the students read Millie's (Amanda's) private thoughts of inadequacy, fear, anger... and respond with their own feelings while asking questions.
Millie/Amanda gives some good advice. Along the way she learns tolerance. She begins to realize all in not as it appears at school.
I read this book with my sixth grade son (his review can be found on
and we both loved the story. Wasn't certain if he would, as he's a boy, but he was able to identify with some of the problems a sixth grader faces. He loved Millie and said he would love to have a friend like her.
I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who likes a good story or anyone who likes to read to their school age children.
Now, about the blogtour:
about the author:
Karen Pokras Toz is a writer, wife and mom. Karen grew up in Connecticut and currently lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and three children. In June 2011, Karen published her first middle grade children’s novel for 7-12 year olds called Nate Rocks the World, which won First Place for Children’s Chapter Books and the Grand Prize Overall in the 2012 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, as well as placing first for a Global E-Book Award for Pre-Teen Literature. In 2012, Karen published the second in the Nate Rocks series, Nate Rocks the Boat, followed by middle grade novel, Millicent Marie Is Not My Name. Karen is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).
Social Media Links:
Website: www.karentoz.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/karenptoz
Twitter: www.twitter.com/karentoz
Buy Links:
Amazon (print and ebook) http://amzn.to/UyX0oA
Barnes & Noble (print and ebook) http://bit.ly/QlEejj
throughout the tour we will be using the hashtag #MillicentMarie. We also will be pinning your posts to the Millicent Marie Tour Pinterest Board. Karen has included a few exclusive Pinterest goodies, so check it out here http://pinterest.com/girlwhoreads/millicent-marie-tour-with-karen-pokras-toz/
We are honored to present a guest post from Millie about family.
Millicent Marie on Family
Hi, I’m Millicent Marie Harris. I’m twelve years old and a sixth-grader at Springside Elementary. Lately, I’ve been giving out a lot of advice about family. I think it’s funny that people want my opinion since my family is kind of . . . well weird. But of course, the people asking me don’t actually know it’s me they are asking. They think I’m Amanda (which is a whole different story that I explain in my book).
Anyway, back to the topic of family. As I mentioned before, mine is a little strange. For starters, my Dad always has to have a camera in my face at every school event. It sounds nice a first, but it gets old (and embarrassing) really fast. Then there’s my mom. For some unknown reason, she has a weird obsession with buying mass quantities of stuff that is on sale that we will probably never use – particularly paper products . . . and dog food. Plus, she’s always waking me up early on the weekends to do chores, and she never takes my side when it comes my younger brother, Doogle. Ugh – don’t get me started on him! Do you know what he did? He published my private diary on the Internet. I know!!!
But the thing is, since I’ve been on the Internet, I get lots of emails from kids wanting advice about their families. It’s made me realize two things. One: all families are weird in their own special way, and Two: my family really isn’t so bad. After all my parents love me and give me a home to live in and always have food around (although, we really don’t need as much as Mom buys). The truth is, my family does a lot of great things for me too – even Doogle – like the time he stalled the bus driver so I wouldn’t miss the bus.
Now that I think about it, I guess my family is actually pretty cool.
Now, about the giveaways!!!
In addition to the individual swag giveaways, Karen will also be hosting a grand prize giveaway that includes a tote bag and Amazon gift card in addition to the swag pack being given out on the blogs.
Prize Description:
Individual swag pack: bookmarks, sticker, notepad, magnet, keychain, & signed postcard
Grand Prize: swag pack plus tote bage, mug, and Amazon Gift Card
a Rafflecopter giveaway
