Thank you for the opportunities to read this book. I have attempted it on a number of occasions but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get into it.

This was a sweet book that I had a fun time reading. Ginny was the kind of girl that meant well and just wanted to help people out (and maybe get attention). She was kinda OTT at times but she was an 8th-grade kid (I have no idea what age that is...12? 13? 14?) so of course, she going to be annoying and dramatic.

I initially selected this book based on the cover and brief description provided on Netgalley. The first few chapters made me want to put this book down and walk away. The main character was unlikable and annoying and the story felt like it was hitting you over the head with too many things. However, once I got about a third of the way in my feelings changed. I started to actually care about the narrator and wanted to see where the book would take her friendship with Carrie.
Overall, I enjoyed the book but felt like it was trying too hard to be too many things. While geared towards a teen audience, I felt like the main character felt young but the content felt too adult in some places. I wanted it to hit a better balance of the two. I liked the premise of the book and thought it had a lot of potential but ultimately it was not for me. This would not be a book that I would read again or that I would recommend.

Ginny's narrative voice, while consistent and individual within the story, struck me as inauthentic for her age and time period (e.g. using "blucky!" as her catch phrase as a modern day eighth grader) and generally irritating. The plot and development felt full of holes, and I was persistently bothered by the apparently affected "Asian speak" of Mr. Lan.

A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and JKS Communications for providing me an advanced electronic copy of “Cursed! My Devastatingly Brilliant Campaign to Save the Chigg” by Idabel Allen.

To be honest, I initially picked this up because I liked the cover of the quirky red headed girl. If I like the cover, I usually dive right into it and start reading, rather than reading the plot. Having said that I really didn’t expect this book to be very good based on its name. The title sounded long and silly I had no idea what a “Chigg” was. Let me tell you, once I started reading it, I just LOVED it and couldn’t put it down! I finished the entire book in one sitting and wished it had continued.

This book has just about everything in it to make a book a complete entertainer. The plot, the characters and the dialogues are so zany and over the top for the most part. Such characters include a zombie obsessed girl, Western villain, voodoo woman, and a girl thinking she is cursed. The plot involves a woman drowning her baby, friends entering a deserted farmhouse to rid a curse and school revenges. One would think that none of these components would have anything in common to make a good middle grade story. Yet somehow the author blends all these elements perfectly into the main story and makes its work beautifully!

The main highlight of the book is the main character Ginny (aka Lady Godzilla). The way Idabel Allen (the author) has written her is just wonderful. Each dialogue and characteristic of this obnoxious yet funny girl brings even an otherwise dull scene to life. There are moments where Ginny would be arguing or frustrated, but the remarks she delivers would be hilarious. The somewhat strange supporting characters like Mr. Lan, Starla and yes, even the Chigger are all just as entertaining. The book also blends its tone and setting well during certain parts of the story. For example, the way the author writes the scenes with Ginny are mostly light hearted. However, you can easily see the serious tone the book morphs into when we start reading Della’s diary entries. I thoroughly enjoyed Idabel’s writing style and would love to read some of her other novels.
Below are some highlights that made me laugh out loud!

I said, “You totally saved my life”. “It was nothing,” she mumbled with a shake of her downcast face, and added, “I gotta go.” Then she turned to leave, just like that. Didn’t even offer to take me home and nurse my foot. Now how rude is that?

“So what? What’s she gonna do? Gum me to death? She only had about four teeth in case you hadn’t noticed. She’s old and decrepit.”

And when I saw her crying I was pretty certain, well, almost certain, that she was upset. So I did what I always do when cheering someone up. I produced a grade-A, Lady Godzilla, fire-breathing, hair-singeing, from-the-gut, belch of endless proportions.

Honestly, this book was an unexpected surprise that I really didn’t think I would enjoy so much. Any book that can make me laugh out loud in itself deserves a five star rating. I highly recommend this book and give it 5/5 stars.