Me & Mom vs. the World

by Jo Whittemore

Published 7 February 2017
Formerly titled Colonial Madness, a mother-daughter duo take part in a bizarre family challenge in hopes of winning a fortune in this “light, fun read” (Booklist) that’s Gilmore Girls meets The Westing Game!

Tori Porter is best friends with her mom, and most of the time it’s awesome. Not many girls have a mom who’d take them to a graveyard for hide-and-seek or fill the bathtub with ice cream for the world’s biggest sundae. But as much as Tori loves having fun, she sometimes wishes her mom would act a little more her age. Like now.

Thanks to her mom’s poor financial planning, they are in danger of losing their business and their home. But an unusual opportunity arises in the form of a bizarre contest run by an eccentric relative: Whoever can survive two weeks in the Archibald Family’s colonial manor will inherit the property. The catch? Contestants have to live as in colonial times: no modern conveniences, no outside help, and daily tests of their abilities to survive challenges of the time period.

Tori thinks it’s the perfect answer to their debt problems, but she and her mom aren’t the only ones interested. The other family members seem to be much more prepared for the two weeks on the manor—and it doesn’t help that Mom doesn’t seem to be taking the contest seriously. Do they stand a chance?

Odd Girl in

by Jo Whittemore

Published 22 March 2011
Twelve-year-old Alexis "Alex" Evins is a loner, a tomboy and a first-class prankster, following in the not-so-glorious footsteps of her older twin brothers, Parker and Nick. When the Evins siblings play a prank that goes just a tad too far (resulting in setting a neighbor's sofa--and hair--on fire), their dad decides it's time for some tough love. He signs them up for an after-school program called Champs!, which guarantees that it will turn any kid into a well-rounded success. Alex, Parker and Nick all must pass the course together, or else it's off to St. Ignacius private school (aka St. Ignasty).

At Champs!, Alex encounters more than a few nemeses, including the Champs! coach, Sharon Success, mom of Alex's classmate, the totally perfect and totally annoying Emily Gold, and the ultra-competitive Chloe Stroupe. After weeks of intense classes, the Evins sibilings are soon faced with the Champs! Championship, a test of teamwork, leadership, and responsibility. Alex and her brothers are determined to win. But when an earlier misstep threatens all their hard work, Alex finds herself scrambling to make things right.

Can the "evil Evins" actually pass this course in one piece? Or are they destined for an epic fail?

D Is for Drama

by Jo Whittemore

Published 7 August 2012
A lead role means lots of drama in this sparkling story of one tween’s efforts to shine in the spotlight.

Sunny Kim is done with one-line roles at Carnegie Arts Academy—she’s ready for the lead. But even after a summer of studying with an acting coach, Sunny doesn’t snag the role of Mary Poppins in her school’s upcoming production.
     Unfortunately, her entire family mistakenly thinks otherwise, including her former-actress mother.
     Desperate for a solution, Sunny convinces her theater adviser to let her produce a one-woman show. But when the rest of her friends find out—the friends that never seem to make the playbill either—they all want to join in. Before long, Sunny is knee-deep in curtains, catfights, and chorus lines as her one-woman work turns into a staging of the hit musical Wicked. And when a terrible misunderstanding pits the entire cast against Sunny, can the show—and Sunny’s future acting career—be saved in time for opening night?