Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Ready or Not! #1
Megan E. Bryant · 2023
80/100
👍 Worth It
A starred School Library Journal review doesn't come easily, and this one sounds earned — Bryant handles puberty and homelessness in the same short novel without either topic feeling shoehorned, and the emotional resonance for nine-to-eleven-year-old girls navigating change is real. Parents of younger or more sensitive kids in the stated age range should know the puberty content is present and handled positively, not avoided. A strong series opener.
✦ 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.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: age-appropriate puberty content — parents of younger or sensitive readers should preview. We still scored it 80; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
📚 Buy the book ↗📱 Read on Kindle ↗🎧 Listen on Audible ↗ affiliate links · support the site, never the verdict
As an Amazon Associate and Audible affiliate, Penny earns from qualifying purchases. This never affects the verdict — see our affiliate disclosure.
Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety88
substance80
craft82
originality76
accuracy82
hype72
age-fit85
human-eye80
Penny’s verdict80
Cross-pollinate