Ask Amy Green

January 1, 2013
As thirteen-year-old Amy's mum is busy preparing for her wedding, Amy helps patch up things between her best friend's boyfriend and his long estranged dad. There is less of Amy helping with her seventeen-year-old Aunt Clover's advice column than in previous books, but Amy's own life provides plenty of drama. Coincidences abound in this installment of the enjoyable but flimsy Ireland-set series.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

August 9, 2010
This earnest but unmemorable Irish import follows the eponymous 13-year-old, who is dealing with divorced parents, new siblings on both sides of her family, a falling-out with her best friend, and her first crush. Amy's salvation is her aunt Clover, her mother's 17-year-old sister. Flighty Clover has landed a coveted job at The Goss magazine, where she answers letters from unhappy teens and ropes Amy into helping her with revenge strategies against those who have wronged those who write in: "We're not going to let boys behave like eejits anymore." The girls crash parties and impersonate casting agents, embarrassing wrongdoers in the name of justice. First in a planned series, adult author Webb's first book for young readers keeps the narrative contemporary with references to social media, hip clothing, and text messages; some references and slang, like the term "agony aunt" for the type of column Clover writes, may be lost on U.S. readers (a glossary, written in Amy's voice, helps). When a pearl necklace is stolen and Amy is framed, she looks to Clover for help, bringing the story to a predictable close. Ages 11–up.