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Fizzypop (Frankie Foster) ISBN: 9780007362653
Ure, Jean
Published by HarperCollins Children's Books, 2011
Frankie Foster has a problem. She wants to help, she really does, but her efforts at helping are often not thought through, and she ends up with a big mess. She also doesn't like to admit that the mess is her fault. Her friends, Skye and Jem, know Frankie well, and Skye in particular, who is sensible and forthright, often has to keep Frankie from doing stupid things. Jem, on the other hand, is the 'fizzy pop' of the title. Never still, she is encouraged by Frankie's efforts, and in particular is convinced by her that looking for her birth mother would be a good thing. Jem, adopted as a baby, has always been perfectly happy with her adoptive parents and considers them her real parents. But after an altercation with her mum (when mum refuses to let her apply to a modelling agency at age 11), she suddenly believes that her real mum would have let her have her own way. Frankie, despite being told by her mother not to do so, encourages Jem's ambitions, and the three friends are soon embarked on a search that convinces even sceptical Skye that they have found the elusive mum. There is lots of humour in this fun novel, and while lessons have to be learned, there is every possibility that Frankie will continue on her 'helpful' but ditsy habits. A series seems to be on the way. The pink cover and pre-teen lingo will appeal to girls, as well as Jacqueline Wilson's quote on the front: 'funny, funky, feisty - and fantastic reads!'
Age: 10+