inkygirl's review against another edition
5.0
If you or your tween is looking for a fun summer read, I strongly recommend this book. Love the funny, fresh voice and quirky humour. Love the poignant moments. Love the fact that Ana's parents are zoologists (Ana is short for Anaconda!) -- the author herself has a zoology background.
I've already bought the next in the series, HOW TO OUTSWIM A SHARK WITHOUT A SNORKEL and also look forward to the release of HOW TO OUTFOX YOUR FRIENDS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE, which comes out in October 2015!
I've already bought the next in the series, HOW TO OUTSWIM A SHARK WITHOUT A SNORKEL and also look forward to the release of HOW TO OUTFOX YOUR FRIENDS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE, which comes out in October 2015!
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
5.0
This has been the year for debut authors. It seems that I've read several this year that have just stuck to me in different ways. This one was no exception.
Jess Keating gets middle school right. It's hard. It's full of kids who get pleasure from cutting down people. It's full of times of your friends being the ones to bring you up. It's full of times of your parents embarrassing you, but also times when your parents show you who you really are.
And Jess Keating shows all of that in her book with plenty of witty comments. Here are some of my favorites, I laughed out loud to all of these:
pg. 49 "I swear, if there were a place called Bright Side, my mother would be queen. Complete with a little crown of stars and glitter and happy unicorns of opportunity."
pgs. 70-71 "Next year's students getting to see my work? That would be like someone seeing inside my doodle notebook. That's practically like seeing someone in their underwear."
pg. 73 "For the first time in my life, I didn't even want to draw, which probably meant I was dying from some awful disease that I'd picked up from crummy math class. I always figured integers were contagious." {I am so with you, Ana!!}
pg. 86 "You can't stay anonymous and stand in front of a crowd of people at the same time. That's like vanilla ice cream wanting to be mint chip. And I am so sticking with Team Vanilla."
pg. 149 "I bit my lip to keep from saying anything. I was still too emotional, and there was no way I was going to get all Sweet Valley High on her." {oh, how I laughed at that one. That had to be meant for the teachers and parents - a SVH comment??? Love it!}
Jess Keating gets middle school right. It's hard. It's full of kids who get pleasure from cutting down people. It's full of times of your friends being the ones to bring you up. It's full of times of your parents embarrassing you, but also times when your parents show you who you really are.
And Jess Keating shows all of that in her book with plenty of witty comments. Here are some of my favorites, I laughed out loud to all of these:
pg. 49 "I swear, if there were a place called Bright Side, my mother would be queen. Complete with a little crown of stars and glitter and happy unicorns of opportunity."
pgs. 70-71 "Next year's students getting to see my work? That would be like someone seeing inside my doodle notebook. That's practically like seeing someone in their underwear."
pg. 73 "For the first time in my life, I didn't even want to draw, which probably meant I was dying from some awful disease that I'd picked up from crummy math class. I always figured integers were contagious." {I am so with you, Ana!!}
pg. 86 "You can't stay anonymous and stand in front of a crowd of people at the same time. That's like vanilla ice cream wanting to be mint chip. And I am so sticking with Team Vanilla."
pg. 149 "I bit my lip to keep from saying anything. I was still too emotional, and there was no way I was going to get all Sweet Valley High on her." {oh, how I laughed at that one. That had to be meant for the teachers and parents - a SVH comment??? Love it!}
yapha's review against another edition
4.0
Jess Keating perfectly captures the painful reality of middle school in this fabulous series! Ana Wright is the daughter of zoologists and granddaughter of a world famous animal showman. Not only that, but they are moving into a house in the zoo where her parents work. Ana secretly loves the animals and working at the zoo. She wishes she could be brave like her mother and grandfather. Instead she is teased mercilessly about the animals in her life, including her name (she was named after an anaconda). When her best friend moves out of the country, everything else about seventh grade starts to spiral out of control. But with a new friend and some new found courage, Ana just might be able to turn things around. This is a must read for students who like school stories and animals. Highly recommended for grades 4-7.
areidj's review against another edition
4.0
I'm still giggling over certain lines from this book...loved it
scostner's review against another edition
4.0
Anyone who has ever had a best friend move away, had their parents embarrass them in front of their classmates, been tormented and teased by "popular" kids at school, or had to do a presentation that they are terrified will be a disaster will understand Ana completely. Her best friend Liv has moved to New Zealand, her parents are zoologists who have moved the family into one of the research houses at the zoo, the Sneerers (Ana's name for a group of popular girls who tease her constantly) have done everything they can to bug her all year, and her grandfather is a famous animal expert that is including his family in the new documentary he is filming. Could the end of seventh grade get any worse? Yup, it sure could. Pesky things like oral presentations in English, a sneak attack involving chicken parmesan in the lunchroom, the horror of her parents participating in Career Day at school, the possibility of failing math, a final art project to illustrate "Your True Seventh-Grade Self"...the pressure and possibilities for public shame keep mounting. Will Ana survive these last weeks of seventh grade and make it to summer vacation?
I think having any one of these problems is enough to give someone a bad day, or a stomach ache, or both. Having them all one after another and overlapping seems like a greatest hits parade of teen pain. It doesn't help that Ana seems to be the only one in her family who is shy and nervous about being the center of attention. Our empathy with Ana makes us especially grateful for the glimmers of kindness and friendship that help get her through these tough times. Readers who haven't reached seventh grade yet need to remember that all these disasters don't befall every student - and they can be survived. For those of us who have completed middle school, we will probably suffer some sympathy pains as her struggles bring up memories of our own embarrassments at that age.
If you enjoy realistic fiction and stories that reflect school and family situations (especially with comic relief and random animal facts mixed in), then you should definitely read this book. Also a great read for anyone who roots for the underdog and always hopes that bullies and mean-spirited peers get paid back for their evil.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
I think having any one of these problems is enough to give someone a bad day, or a stomach ache, or both. Having them all one after another and overlapping seems like a greatest hits parade of teen pain. It doesn't help that Ana seems to be the only one in her family who is shy and nervous about being the center of attention. Our empathy with Ana makes us especially grateful for the glimmers of kindness and friendship that help get her through these tough times. Readers who haven't reached seventh grade yet need to remember that all these disasters don't befall every student - and they can be survived. For those of us who have completed middle school, we will probably suffer some sympathy pains as her struggles bring up memories of our own embarrassments at that age.
If you enjoy realistic fiction and stories that reflect school and family situations (especially with comic relief and random animal facts mixed in), then you should definitely read this book. Also a great read for anyone who roots for the underdog and always hopes that bullies and mean-spirited peers get paid back for their evil.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
poorashleu's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted here
This book was adorable. There is really no other way to sum up the book but by calling it adorable. What Jess Keating did in How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes are Untied was able to take an anything but ordinary situation and make it relatable. Ana does not have what she considers to be a normal life, she was named after an anaconda, her parents decided to force her to live in a zoo, and her younger brother is the worst person in her life. Then her BFF ‘s parents decided to make the BFF move across the world to New Zealand and the clique of mean girls are terrorizing her.
Ana feels she is not relatable and no one will understand her, but the thing is, she is understandable and relatable. I remember being Ana’s age and knowing that no one really understood me. Of course, looking back, people did understand and knew what I was going through. Minus the whole living in the zoo bit, I understood Ana. I knew what it was like to have to stand up and give a presentation when you didn’t want to. Or complete that art project that no matter what happened it would suck and not be perfect.
Through humor and facts, Keating leads the reader and the characters on a super cute story about growing up when you want nothing to change and everything to just be.
This book was adorable. There is really no other way to sum up the book but by calling it adorable. What Jess Keating did in How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes are Untied was able to take an anything but ordinary situation and make it relatable. Ana does not have what she considers to be a normal life, she was named after an anaconda, her parents decided to force her to live in a zoo, and her younger brother is the worst person in her life. Then her BFF ‘s parents decided to make the BFF move across the world to New Zealand and the clique of mean girls are terrorizing her.
Ana feels she is not relatable and no one will understand her, but the thing is, she is understandable and relatable. I remember being Ana’s age and knowing that no one really understood me. Of course, looking back, people did understand and knew what I was going through. Minus the whole living in the zoo bit, I understood Ana. I knew what it was like to have to stand up and give a presentation when you didn’t want to. Or complete that art project that no matter what happened it would suck and not be perfect.
Through humor and facts, Keating leads the reader and the characters on a super cute story about growing up when you want nothing to change and everything to just be.
mlinamman's review against another edition
5.0
This book was surprising. I thought it would be a funny story about a girl in a zoo but I was wrong. Ana struggles with finishing seventh grade after her best friend Liv moved away. She deals with bullies, anxiety and first crushes. The story pulled at my heartstrings and I would recommend it to students who are struggling to find themselves.
kgourd's review against another edition
4.0
Ana is a typical middle school girl, if your typical middle school girl feeds crocodiles and lives with lions...On her journey to discover the answer to the question everyone asks at that age "Who am I?" life continues to throw curve-balls in her face. First, her best friend moves across the world, then her famous reality-show-star of a Grandpa shows up and funds her Mom's project that requires the family to move in with lions! Throw end of year school projects, the Sneerers, and boys into the mix and who knows what will happen next!