The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower Lisa Graff

The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower by Lisa Graff. Bernetta Wallflower is framed by her best friend for running a school wide cheating ring. The beginning of this book makes you sit up and take notice. Ashley Johansson, the girl who framed Bernetta is slipping out of class to blackmail someone. It's not often a girl is cheating/blackmailing and lying in books and though its not right its still kinda cool. Bernetta takes the fall for Ashley's action and is kicked out of Mount Olive. Bernetta's parents are having a hard time believing her because she cheated on a test. Bernetta is determined to go back to Mount Olive for 7th grade and must find a way to get $9,000 for the tuition. Bernetta is a regular girl who loves her family, is going to miss her big sister when she goes off to college and loves to do magic. She simply made two really bad decisions. Sometimes good people will make more bad decisions to fix prior mistakes. Bernetta does just that when she decides to team up with Clyde. Clyde is a boy she meant at her father's magic club who likes to run cons. He convinces Bernetta running cons will be a quick and easy way to raise her tuition money. Once I started reading I didn't want to stop. There are some really great moments, like when Bernetta goes to buy five lotto tickets. The clerk won't sell her the tickets so she tries to bribe him with two dollars. Life of crimes of Bernetta Wallflower gives the reader a lot to think about- decisions, choices, and what type of person do you really want to be. I really enjoyed Bernetta Wallflower.Lisa Graff's first novel The Thing About Georgie is up for the Georgia Book Award. All the Georgia Book Award nominated books are read for the Dekalb reading bowl. Check out the link below.
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/hrrb/middlebooklist.html