Cleveland Rosebud Potts has a plan. If she can check off the six items on her très important Paris Project List she will make it out of the small-minded and scorching town of Sassafras, Florida, to a rich and cultured life at The American School of Paris. Unfortunately, everything seems to conspire against Cleveland reaching her goal. Cleveland is ashamed of her father who is in jail after stealing from his boss to feed his gambling addiction and angry that her mother and sister are never around because they have to work extra shifts to help out the family. Her Eiffel Tower tin has zero funds. And to top it all off, Cleveland's best friend Jenna Finch has decided she's too fancy for her and her neighbor Declan seems to be hiding something.
As Cleveland puts her talents to the test, she must learn how to forgive family for their faults, appreciate friends for exactly who they are, and bloom where she's planted — even if that's in a tiny town in central Florida that doesn't even have a French restaurant. C'est la vie!
"[Cleveland] recently lost all the money from her Paris fund (earned by walking dogs); her father took it after stealing from his boss to feed a gambling addiction. Now he’s in jail, and Cleveland struggles to reconcile her anger for his transgression with how desperately she and the rest of the family want him home. She’s also starting seventh grade with only one friend from her trailer park, an aspiring chef who’s slowly coming out as gay. Gephart once again compassionately creates complex characters, including the members of Cleveland’s presumed-white family, who are profoundly earnest in their collective and individual dreams. Readers won’t 'pity' Cleveland (she wouldn’t want any), but they’ll be rooting for her all the way." — Kirkus Reviews
Recommended Age | 9 - 12 |
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Author | Donna Gephart |
ISBN | 1534440860 |
Publication Date | Oct 8, 2019 |
Publisher | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
Language | English |