Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Not that I Care
Rachel Vail · 1998
78/100
👍 Worth It
The paper-bag framing device is one of those rare middle-grade structural ideas that earns its own weight — each object genuinely unlocks something emotionally true rather than feeling like a gimmick. Vail's ear for seventh-grade social anxiety is precise and unsentimental, and the Judy Blume comparison holds. Coming in third in a series is the main practical hurdle for new readers.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety92
substance78
craft80
originality80
accuracy82
hype68
age-fit85
human-eye78
Penny’s verdict78
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