About the Book: Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks is about a young girl, April Grace, and her life growing up in small town Arkansas during the 1980’s. April's mom drops a bombshell that there is going to be a new addition to the family, and she then has complications that force her to take it easy. Since her mom can no longer run the church play like she usually does, Isabel St. James, drama queen, is asked to help put on the church play.
My Thoughts: As a high school teacher with some lower functioning students I thought this was a rather enjoyable read. Since it is written for tweeners it was an easy read. I told several of my students who love to read about the book and they went straight out and got it for their Kindles. K.D. McCrite created vivid characters, and a sweet touching story. Most of her characters are called by their first and middle names, such as April Grace, Myra Sue, Melissa Kay….a very southernesque practice. The book is grammatically spot on…..but the language is all southern. Southern idioms, such as “lick of sense, happier than a pig in slop,” abound in the story. Her masterful use of southern slang make this a delightful story. This book is written for readers between the ages of 9-12. Although, anyone raised in the south can relate to this story and those not raised in the south can dream.
About the Author: K.D. McCrite has “been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She’s always loved to read, and books became her best friends. She grew up on an Ozarks dairy farm and that meant that most of her time was taken up by farm work. When she wasn’t taking care of the calves, or mucking out the barn, or helping her dad in the hayfield, she’d tuck a book under one arm and hoist herself into the hayloft, where the scent of the hay was warm and sweet. Or she’d scoot up her favorite tree in the backyard where the breeze swung the branches gently. When she began writing stories, she’d sneak off into the woods, or down to the pond with her notebook and pen and hope her mother didn’t call her to come help cook supper. These days she spend most of her time at the computer spinning tales that she hope will entertain the readers.” April Grace Reilly, the spitfire heroine of the “Confessions of April Grace” series, shares a lot of things with her, from their love of books to their red hair. But, April Grace sticks her foot in her mouth a lot more than McCrite ever did. And she has a lot more adventures.”
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