"Samantha "Sam" has definite theories about middle children and knows that they are all messed up, just like her. While her older sister, Lucy, is busy being Miss Popularity as a high school cheerleader and great dresser, her younger sister, Rebecca, is a total brain and goes to a special private school for way accelerated learning, Sam is spending her time dying her whole wardrobe black in protest and trying to devise ways to convince Jack, Lucy's boyfriend, that he is really in love with her. In her spare time, Sam draws portraits of her classmates with famous movie stars and makes pretty good money, too, until Lucy rats her out. The next thing she knows, Sam is stuck in this stupid art class where the teacher keeps telling her to "see" and acts like she is the worst artist ever.
After the first humiliating class, Sam is determined never to return, so she hides in the CD store downstairs until her housekeeper comes to pick her up. She notices a suspicious guy, whom she calls Mr. Uptown Girl on account of his listening to Billy Joel's hit umpteen times while she is waiting and thinks its pretty weird that he is waiting outside her art class, but whatever. Much to her surprise, he pulls out a gun and tries to shoot the president, who is just trying to buy a cookie, for heaven's sake, and then astounds everyone, herself included, when she tackles Mr. Uptown Girl and takes him down.
Instant celebrity and hero status is conferred upon Sam and she finds herself dodging reporters, having dinner at the White House, and trying to figure out what the heck is going on with David, the president's son. Sam immediately recognizes David from her art class and is desperate to keep him from mentioning that she skipped class the previous week, but David doesn't seem to care that much. He does seem interested in her, though, but her heart is already taken, isn't it?
This is just a great story by Meg Cabot - I was laughing the whole way through. Sam is a riot and it is so funny to go through her thought processes and see why she is doing what she does. It was also a great story because Sam really learns to "see" and that it is okay to be normal and follow rules once in a while. With a great cast of supporting characters and lots of hilarious, if improbable moments, this book is a must read!
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Debbie, Resident Scholar
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