By Colorado Kids Advisory Board member Ryan Downing

Title: Nobody Was Here
Author: Alison Pollet
Publisher: Scholastic/ Orchard Books
Number of pages: 218

It’s the year 1981, and Penelope Schwartzbaum is almost a 7th grader at Elston Prep Middle School. All of her life, Penelope had lived on Manhattans’ Upper West Side with her little brother, Nathaniel, and her mom and dad. Penelope had a regular life going to school at Elston Elementary, coming home to help her Mothers’ helper Ivy take care of Nathaniel, and, of course, Penelope played with her best friend, Stacy, whom she’d know for six years.

Penelope definitely was not prepared for the dramatic changes that were about to occur. Because of that, when Penelope entered 7th grade, things were very surprising. She could hardly make her way around the strange school campus, and she felt as if she didn’t even know her best friend Stacy anymore. All of the kids she thought she knew seemed like strangers. They all became rude, and Penelope even found Stacy wasn’t anyone she wanted to hang around with anymore. Penelope eventually found a new group of friends, but she never really hung out with her old ones anymore.

As if things couldn’t get worse, Penelope’s Mother’s Helper Ivy was replaced with a new Mother’s Helper named Jenny. Both Penelope and her brother Nathaniel had loved Ivy, and they were very upset she had to go. One day, Penelope’s mother started acting funny, arguing with her dad, and having a lot of lunch dates with this guy she called Fred. To Penelope, all of the clues pointed to one thing; Mrs. Schwartzbaum must be having an affair! Penelope and her new friends were on the case.

Will Penelope survive the rest of 7th grade, and will she be able to regain her friendship with Stacy? Will her parents divorce if her Dad finds out what Penelope suspects about her mother? You’ll have to find out yourself!

I thought that this book was well written, but the topic really scared me! Now I really am not sure about going to Middle School because it sounds awful! (I hope I am proved wrong though.) I liked the main character, Penelope, and her new friends, Tillie and Cass because they always made the right decisions, unlike Stacy and her new friends. The writing itself was very descriptive and detailed, but when it jumped around or rushed through some areas, it was hard to follow. I would recommend this book for girls’ ages 9-13, unless they are nervous to start middle school because it might freak them out. If you have already read this book, some similar ones are ‘The Great Green Notebook of Katie Roberts’, ‘Harriett the Spy,’ and ‘The Year My Parents Ruined My Life’. You might enjoy those, too. (February, 2005)