Your Friend in Fashion, Abby Shapiro
Abby’s mother tells her that she needs to use her own money to buy a Barbie doll, so Abby decides to go into business designing clothes. Aiming high, Abby solicits Jackie Kennedy, the fashionable wife of Senator Kennedy, as her first customer. But Abby’s letters to Jackie contain more than just drawings of outfits. Abby pours her heart out to Jackie about how she’s being teased at school for not being allowed to wear a bra, how her parents fight all the time, and how she is burdened by a terrible thing she did to two old ladies who live in her neighborhood.
Because the publisher tried to make Abby’s letters look as if they’d been handwritten in cursive, I found them difficult to read. I was also taken aback at the mean-spirited way Abby’s parents often spoke to her, especially her father. Overall, though, this was an engaging story with historical depth, interesting characters, wonderful coming-of-age moments, and important lessons about inclusiveness and forgiveness.
