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The School Story
Cover of The School Story
The School Story

Twelve-year-old Natalie Nelson has written a powerful school story. It's a short novel called "The Cheater," and her best friend Zoe is certain it should be published. All Natalie has to do is give the manuscript to her mom, an editor at a big publishing house. However Natalie doesn't want any favors from her mom. Still, Zoe won't drop the idea.

Spurred into action, Natalie invents a pen name for herself and Zoe becomes a self-styled literary agent. But if the girls are to succeed, they'll need support from their wary English teacher, legal advice from Zoe's tough-talking father, and some clever maneuvering to outwit the overbearing editor in chief of Shipley Junior Books.

Andrew Clements, the best-selling author of Frindle, The Landry News, and The Janitor's Boy, delights his audience with this story of two irrepressible girls who use their talent, ingenuity, and a little cunning to try to make a young writer's dream come true.

Twelve-year-old Natalie Nelson has written a powerful school story. It's a short novel called "The Cheater," and her best friend Zoe is certain it should be published. All Natalie has to do is give the manuscript to her mom, an editor at a big publishing house. However Natalie doesn't want any favors from her mom. Still, Zoe won't drop the idea.

Spurred into action, Natalie invents a pen name for herself and Zoe becomes a self-styled literary agent. But if the girls are to succeed, they'll need support from their wary English teacher, legal advice from Zoe's tough-talking father, and some clever maneuvering to outwit the overbearing editor in chief of Shipley Junior Books.

Andrew Clements, the best-selling author of Frindle, The Landry News, and The Janitor's Boy, delights his audience with this story of two irrepressible girls who use their talent, ingenuity, and a little cunning to try to make a young writer's dream come true.

Available formats-
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB eBook
Languages:-
Copies-
  • Available:
    0
  • Library copies:
    0
Levels-
  • ATOS:
    5.2
  • Lexile:
    760
  • Interest Level:
    MG
  • Text Difficulty:
    3 - 4


Excerpts-
  • From the book

    Chapter 1: Fan Number One

    Natalie couldn't take it. She peeked in the doorway of the school library, then turned, took six steps down the hall, turned, paced back, and stopped to look in at Zoe again. The suspense was torture.

    Zoe was still reading. The first two chapters only added up to twelve pages. Natalie leaned against the door frame and chewed on her thumbnail. She thought, What's taking her so long?

    Zoe could see Natalie out of the corner of her eye. She could feel all that nervous energy nudging at her, but Zoe wasn't about to be rushed. She always read slowly, and she liked it that way, especially when it was a good story. And this one was good.

    The Cheater by Natalie Nelson

    page 12

    I catch up with Sean between Eighty-second and Eighty-first Streets. His legs are longer than mine, so I'm panting. I grab his arm and he stops in front of a bodega.

    He says, "Why are you following me?"

    "I've got to talk to you."

    "Yeah, well, too bad. You had your chance to talk during the Penalty Board hearing. And you didn't."

    "But if I told the truth, then the whole school would know I cheated. I'd get expelled."

    He just looks at me. "But you really did cheat, right?...And I really didn't steal that answer key, right?...And you know I didn't steal it because you did, right?"

    I nod yes to all the questions.

    Sean is almost shouting now, his eyes wild. "So first you steal, then you cheat, and now you've lied. And me? You've left me to take the punishment."

    The shopkeeper is worried. He moves from the counter to the doorway of the bodega, looking at us.

    Sean ignores him and gets right into my face, screaming. "Well, guess what, Angela. We're not friends now -- and I don't know if we ever were!"

    He storms away, hands jammed in his pockets, shoulders hunched, stabbing the sidewalk with every step.

    Me, I cry.

    Zoe let page twelve slip onto the table and then stared at it, deep in thought.

    "So, what do you think?"

    Natalie was right behind her, and Zoe jumped six inches. "Jeez, Natalie! Scare me to death! And you ruined a nice moment too."

    "But what do you think? Is it any good?"

    Zoe nodded. "I think it's very good."

    "Really?" Natalie pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning forward. "I mean, you're not just saying that because we're best friends?"

    Zoe shook her head. "No, I mean it. It's good. Like I can't wait to read the whole thing. Can you bring the rest tomorrow?"

    Natalie smiled and reached into her backpack. She pulled out a blue folder with a rubber band around it. "Here. I've still got to write about five more chapters. I just needed to know if the beginning was any good, but you can read what I've got done if you want."

    Zoe took the folder carefully and said, "This is great. But you are going to finish it, right? Do you know the whole story already -- like all the way to the end?"

    Natalie said, "Not all the way to the end...but almost. I know how the end feels, but not exactly what happens -- at least, not yet."

    Natalie's book had begun by accident on the bus with her mom late one afternoon back in September. Sixth grade was already three weeks old, and both she and her mom had settled into the routine of commuting together. It was a Friday afternoon, and they were going home on the 5:55 coach, thundering through the Lincoln Tunnel from New York City to Hoboken, New Jersey.

    Her mom looked exhausted. Natalie studied the face tilted toward her on the headrest. It was a pretty face -- Prettier than mine, she thought. But there were little lines at the corners of her mother's eyes and mouth. Care lines, worry...

About the Author-
  • Andrew Clements (1949-2019) was the author of the enormously popular Frindle. More than 10 million copies of his books have been sold, and he was nominated for a multitude of state awards, including two Christopher Awards and an Edgar Award. His popular works include About Average, Troublemaker, Extra Credit, Lost and Found, No Talking, Room One, Lunch Money, and more. He was also the author of the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series. Find out more at AndrewClements.com.
Reviews-
  • Publisher's Weekly

    Starred review from May 28, 2001
    Clements's (Frindle) absorbing novel centers on Natalie, a 12-year-old aspiring author who, since her father died in an automobile accident, lives alone with her mother, Hannah, a children's book editor for a New York City publisher. As the book opens, Natalie's best friend, Zoe, is reading the novel that Natalie is writing. The impulsive, take-charge Zoe decides it is good enough to be published and hatches a scheme to ensure that it is. The path from manuscript to bound book takes some funny turns, as the girls elicit the aid of their English teacher, who rents office space that serves as the faux headquarters of Natalie's self-appointed agent: Zoe. Clements strikes a poignant note with his plot within a plot, since the youngster's novel tells of a girl whose father stands up for her always—even when she is caught cheating in school. Through the use of alternating perspectives, he characterizes the two seventh graders as very different but equally likable parties in a "push-and-pull friendship." Though Natalie's is, indeed, a "school story," it is at heart a tale about the love between a father and daughter. In Zoe's eyes, "the book was like a good-bye poem from Natalie to her father," whom she misses enormously. Hannah, explaining to Natalie how she can recognize the rare gem of a manuscript among the many submissions she receives, says, "The good ones stand out like roses in a snowbank." This is one such standout. Ages 8-12.

  • Publisher's Weekly

    August 12, 2002

    In a starred review, PW
    called this book about a 12-year-old aspiring author a "standout. Indeed a 'school story,' this is at heart a tale about the love between a father and a daughter." Ages 8-12.

Title Information+
  • Publisher
    Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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The School Story
The School Story
Andrew Clements
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