Wild Iris Bloom - Hardcover

With her parents in Europe, Iris (Maggie's irrepressible best friend in Getting Even, 1988) is so weary of her oblivious babysitter that she keeps news of their delayed return secret and sends Mrs. Fuller on her way. Walking to the mall (where she's forbidden to go alone), Iris goes to a favorite shop, confides too much of her situation, and is later picked up by the salesman--not a stranger but not as nice as he seems. Iris escapes from his car when he tries to kiss her, telephones Maggie to ask her dad to come get her, and eventually tells her what has happened. The book begins with an overlong, mostly humorous depiction of Iris masking her loneliness by checking out some innocently naughty symbols of her coming adulthood: she's planning to get even with the class bully with the help of a wolf puppet made from a satin wolf-head g-string (male) that will devour his boy crying wolf in a puppet show; she has bought and put on a padded bra just before she's picked up. Still, her 12-year-old vulnerability peeps through in telling details, and the pace comes to full speed with her narrow escape and Jukes's purposeful but skillfully orchestrated conclusion: Maggie hesitates but does the right thing--she tells her parents, who inform the police. Caught by Iris's entertainingly outrageous pranks, readers will stay to enjoy the warm interaction with Maggie's sensible parents and especially between the girls: Maggie, a true friend, concludes by tactfully helping the chagrined Iris to get back on track. (Fiction. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 5-7-- Iris, 12, doesn't seem to have changed much since readers last encountered her and her friend Maggie in Getting Even (Knopf, 1988). She remains outspoken, often embarrassing her friends, and willful. After six weeks of surviving an ``intolerable'' baby-sitter, Iris is furious to discover that her parents' return from a European business trip will be delayed by one day. Instead of informing her caretaker, she decides that since she is a woman now--she began menstruating while her parents were gone--she can remain alone for one night. That decision, along with another poorly thought-out plan to go to the mall alone, puts Iris in a crisis situation. She accepts a ride from a friendly shoe salesman who attempts to molest her, but her quick thinking allows her to escape. When Maggie breaks her promise and reveals her best friend's horrible secret to her father, Iris is at last able to get the adult comfort and advice she desperately needs. Jukes has a sure touch in capturing contemporary dialogue and relationships, but it is difficult to understand why anyone would remain friends with someone as obnoxious as Iris. In spite of this major flaw, the author manages to evoke readers' sympathy for the girl; although there are many touches of humor in this novel, Iris's predicament is presented honestly and seriously and resolved in a positive way. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.