Kate the Great Except When She's Not is an enjoyable read. However, there are so many books in the middle-grade doodle-accented diary-style genre now that any new additions to the field need to be particularly good to stand out from the crowd. Kate the Great, while enjoyable, isn't especially exciting or different. It's not as laugh-out-loud funny as other similar books, and there were times when some information seemed to be missing or skipped over. That being said, Kate the Great is still a good read for fans of the doodle-accented diary books.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley. ( )

I picked this up because my real name is Kate and one of my best friends is also named Kate. It's a diary of a fifth grader as she faces unfriendly classmates, band class, familial miscommunications, new girl scout leaders, and critical art teachers. It's a fun little story that reminds me (sometimes unflatteringly) of my life at that age. ( )

Kate reluctantly makes friends with Nora, a school-mate who her mom asks her to spend more time with. Drama ensues when Kate gives away a toy that isn't hers, is named a section co-leader in her band, and when she plans her sleepover birthday party. A relatively unchallenging read with humor that will certainly appeal to 9-10 year old girls, especially those who are reluctant readers. It is filled with definitions of difficult words, illustrations, and text; this is a bit of a hybrid between a graphic novel and a traditional book. Some of the action is only expressed solely through the images and not by the text which I found, at times, confusing. ( )

It's such a pleasure to read a novel for children that not only echoes what it means to be a fifth grader but is a good fit for younger aspirational readers as well. Peppered with humorous illustrations that add a kind of sub-narrative to the story, this is a real-world reflection of annoying scout leaders who change the rules (unnecessarily), having to be friends with kids you don't like, wanting to stand out as an individual, and both loving and ruing your dorky parents. As Kate navigates scouting, school projects, and band auditions, she gains solid (and definitely not insipid!) insight about what friendship really means. Delightful. Publisher's galley received via NetGalley.com. (38) ( )