Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen
by Niki Lenz (Author)
2020-2021 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List
Bernice Buttman is tough, crass, and hilarious, and she just might teach you a thing or two about empathy in this debut for fans of The Great Gilly Hopkins.
When you're a Buttman, the label bully comes with the territory, and Bernice lives up to her name. But life as a bully is lonely, and if there's one thing Bernice really wants (even more than becoming a Hollywood stuntwoman), it's a true friend.
After her mom skedaddles and leaves her in a new town with her aunt (who is also a real live nun), Bernice decides to mend her ways and become a model citizen. If her plan works, she just might be able to get herself to Hollywood Hills Stunt Camp! But it's hard to be kind when no one shows you kindness, so a few cheesy pranks may still be up her sleeve. . . .
Get ready to laugh out loud--and maybe even shed a tear--with this fantastic new middle-grade voice!
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Publishers Weekly
Fifth grader Bernice is a bully and proud of it. She lives in a trailer in Kansas City with her wild but protective older brothers and her mother, who takes lunch money from Bernice for a new tattoo and dreams of being a star. Bernice has her own dreams: to become a stuntwoman and attend a summer stunt camp, and to move beyond her reputation and hot temper to make a true friend. She gets a chance to wipe the slate clean when her mom heads to Hollywood, leaving Bernice in the care of her sister, a Sister, at the abbey where she lives with a small group of quirky nuns--one of them "speaks only in children's book quotes." Bernice struggles to change with the help of the nuns, a new friend, and horseback riding and stunt lessons, but when she sees the chance to get money for camp by creating a fake fund-raiser for the abbey, she must decide who she really is. Bernice's sometimes harsh home conditions and how they contribute to her unkind ways are sensitively portrayed and well balanced with humor and Bernice's spirited narration. Ages 8-12. Agent: Kate Testerman, KT Literary. (Mar.)
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
JUV039230 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Bullying
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
Conduct of life
Bullying
Moving, Household
Aunts
Nuns
