Gertie is on a mission to be the best 5th grader in the history of the world. And Gertie ALWAYS completes her missions. But a certain new girl Mary Sue Spivey is in the way. She, too, is determined to be the best. An instant rivalry is formed after the events of the first day of school, and Gertie is becoming less and less certain she'll complete her mission. She also wants to convince her mother that she doesn't need her anymore, because Gertie's mother abandoned the family to start a new one... This book is so funny! I laughed, giggled, and guffawed at the shenanigans of Gertie and her friends. Not really my style of book all in all, though, but I recommend it for kids 8+
Gertie's Leap to Greatness
By Kate Beasley
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grade 5 | n/a | 4.7 | 41907 |
"Meet the new Ramona Quimby!" -- Entertainment Weekly
Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she'll be leaving behind. There's just one problem: Seat-stealing new girl Mary Sue Spivey wants to be the best fifth grader, too. And there is simply not enough room at the top for the two of them.
From debut author Kate Beasley, and with illustrations by Caldecott Honor artist Jillian Tamaki, comes a classic tale of hope and homecoming that will empty your heart, then fill it back up again--one laugh at a time.
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ISBN-13: 9780374302610
ISBN-10: 0374302618
Published on 10/4/2016
Binding: Hardcover
Number of pages: 256
Book Reviews (37)
so amazing
I would very much like to follow Gertie and her Leap, especially because it is one to greatness. A title like that would be one that would most definitely make me want to read the book.
It's a great book to read.
Gertie’s Leap to Greatness is about Gertie, an incoming 5th grader whose mission is to become the universe’s best fifth grader. This is Gertie’s biggest mission because she wants to show her mom, who recently decided to move away from her town, what she will be leaving behind after she moves. Everything was perfect until Gertie meets Mary Sue Spivey, a new girl that has the same mission as Gertie. There is only enough room for one of them at the top. What will Gertie do? Mary uses Gertie’s friends to turn against her, a Save the Planet club to bully Gertie’s father who works at an oil rig, and much more things to become the best fifth grader. Who will eventually come on top? How will Gertie handle Mary? To find out, you have to read Gertie’s Leap to Greatness, which I rate 5 stars and recommend to anyone who is looking for a great read.
Gertie is on a mission. She never fails her mission so this will work out for her....right? The thing is Gertie never counted on the new snobby girl from California becoming the greatest kid of the fifth grade. Now it seems as if Gertie's whole life and plan is being ruined. All she wanted to do was prove to her mother(she walked away from Gertie and her dad) that she was a worthy daughter and that she didn't need a mother anyway. This was an okay book at the beginning I thought I was going to like it but then it turned terrible. Although what Gertie is doinng in the book is a noble idea it seemed as if she was just a selfish complainer who didn't care about her friends or anyone else that came in the way of achieving her goal. It was because of this that I really didn't like this book.
Gertie Foy is a fifth grader in Carroll Elementary. She wants to be the best fifth grader ever. When she goes to school on the first day, she meets a new girl from California. She is smarter than anyone else in Gertie's class. Gertie is determined to outsmart the new girl, Mary Sue Spivey. I liked this book because I liked how she outsmart Mary Sue.
Gertie has a goal. She is going to be the best 5th grader. Her reason for her goal? So that her distant mother(who is moving away and getting married), will realize that Gertie doesn't need her. But someone else has the same goal. Enter new girl, Mary Sue Spivey, who just moved from California while her dad is filming a movie here. All of a sudden she is the most popular girl in school. Mary Sue knows the most famous child actresses in the country, she knows all the answers in class, she's the teachers favorite. According to Gertie, she is just plain evil. So now Gertie must come up with a new plan. How can she become the best fifth grader ever? How can she become the smartest, the funniest, the most popular? And how can she do it while keeping her friends? I think this book was an interesting view on not-so-average families. Gertie's mom left them when Gertie was very little, but she lives just across town. Now Gertie's Great-Aunt Rae stays with her and her father and takes care of them. And Gertie's father works on an oil rig, so he is gone for two weeks and then home for two weeks. At the beginning of the book Gertie is very self-involved. However, as the book goes on there is character development, and she is a better person at the end. I recommend this to elementary students who like realistic fiction. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
After winning this book from Dogo Books, I knew I'd like it. And boy was I right. Gertie Reece Foy is on a mission. Not just any old mission, but an extra special mission. Gertie is on a mission to be the best fifth grader in the entire world. Gertie has never failed her missions, and she is determined to not fail this one either. She starts out the year feeling confident with her summer speech. She knows that she will have the best one. Just When she feels great, Mary Sue Spivey has a better story than hers. As the year goes on, she battles her friend turning on her, her class giving her dirty looks, and Mary Sue making her and her daddy look bad. Yet Gertie is determined to continue with her mission. Finally, she finds a chance to prove she is the best fifth grader ever. But suddenly, everything comes crashing down. Gertie wonders if this will be the first time she failed a mission. I recommend this book to boys and girls ages 9-12.
They don't lie it's like a new Ramona!