Firecracker

June 17, 2013
Film and TV writer Iserson debuts with the story of privileged, caustic 17-year-old Astrid Krieger, whose recent expulsion from preppy Bristol Academy has forced her to enroll in public school. Astrid will do anything to be readmitted to Bristol, and she hatches a deal with the school's therapist: if she successfully completes a series of selfless acts, the school might reconsider her suspension. For this chauffeur-driven master manipulatorâwho's learned everything she knows from her ethically dubious ex-senator grandfatherâaltruism is a foreign concept. As Astrid strikes up a friendship with a hair-chewing misfit and a modest boy who is intrigued by her, she begins to understand the source of her own isolation. Astrid's narrative vacillates between moments of wicked hilarity and details that shoot into bombastic territory (Astrid casually mentions that JFK once shot her grandfather during a game of Russian roulette and that she has robbed several convenience stores). Iserson doesn't ask readers to feel sorry for his spoiled and outlandish heroine, but urges them to trust that beneath her explosive tendencies is a kernel of compassion. Ages 12âup. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.

Starred review from April 15, 2013
Not your everyday poor-little-rich-girl story. Astrid Krieger is incredibly rich. She has no friends and has just been expelled from her private school. She is being forced to attend (horrors!) public school and to see a therapist, the same guy who expelled her for cheating. But don't feel sorry for Astrid: She has never been at a loss in her life and will undoubtedly not only survive, but make miserable anyone who has ever offended her. As Astrid recounts her story, her astringent wit and distinctive outlook is reflected in a wry, consistently diverting voice that occasionally indulges in a surfeit of swearing. The arc of the plot is never in doubt, as from the first page readers know this self-centered egoist will eventually find friends and learn that doing good can be great. Astrid's version of doing good gradually gains some depth, but she never loses her sense that she belongs at the center of the world or, er, galaxy. A ditzy older sister and the curmudgeonly grandfather who built the family fortune are some of the more entertaining characters, while the fellow students who populate both private and public schools are considerably less vivid, but that is as it should be. Astrid seldom notices in any depth the lesser beings in her universe, with a choice few exceptions. Being called a firecracker is a derogatory term as far as Astrid is concerned, but for readers, it simply means entertaining. (Fiction. 12-16)

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August 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-When 17-year-old Astrid Krieger's latest boarding school kicks her out for cheating, her parents give her one option: public school. Despite being guilty of this crime and more, Astrid schemes to expose the traitor in her old clique who set her up for discovery. In the course of stringing along her psychologist; avoiding her fake boyfriend; and coming up with an elaborate expose involving a doppelganger, a basket of sandwiches, and a horse, she also learns some lessons about family, friendship, and romance. Weaknesses in plotting and cliched, underdeveloped secondary characters are overcome by the sheer force of Astrid's voice as the whip-smart, spoiled, snarky narrator in this fast-paced and funny novel.-Natasha Forrester, Multnomah County Library, OR

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
Wealthy, pretty, and unafraid, seventeen-year-old Astrid is accustomed to terrorizing the teachers and students at various boarding schools until she's expelled (or arrested). When her eccentric family decides public school is her last stop, Astrid is unimpressed. Astrid's distinctive voice--acerbic, dry, and irreverent--and a cast of equally quirky supporting characters help compensate for undeveloped family and romantic plot lines.

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