All Four Stars- By: Tara Dairman

"Gladys is a lovable character with plenty of spunk and desire, and readers will happily cheer her on, while the fresh plot adds a delicious dimension."

-Booklist

Gladys Gustsby

A part from the book that tells us the setting of the story

Gladys: "I need a copy of the newspaper."

Sandy: "Don't you get it delivered?"

Gladys: "Not the Dumpsford Township Intelligencer."

Gladys: "I need a copy of the New York Standard."

Sandy: "Oh. Does this have something to do with that e-mail?"

Gladys: "Yeah. I can tell you more about it later, but I'd better go so I can be back before my parents get home."

Sandy: "In this rain? Are you crazy?"

Gladys: "Um, I think it's letting up..."

Sandy: "Wait, I think my mom gets the New York Standard."

Gladys: "Really?"

Sandy and his mom had moved to town after the article slamming the landfill was published; like Ms. Quincy, they probably didn't know that good East Dumpsfordians didn't read the Standard.

East Dumpsfordians

Pg. 127

• One of Gladys' traits is that she is not thankful. Such as when she thought, " It would've been nice if they'd (her parents) given me the mini torch (a torch for cooking) I wanted for my eleventh birthday instead of that stupid tablet computer." After Gladys set the kitchen on fire because she was cooking, he parents punished her that she will stop cooking for six months. Because she can't cook she will have to eat the food that her parents get. " But the food we eat is gross. It testes awful and makes me fell sick," Gladys said. So she is not thank for what she has ( the tablet computer for example), and she is not thankful for the food they have.
• Second trait, Gladys was enthusiastic about cooking. Gladys showed intense and eager enjoyment about cooking. Gladys' contacted to write a restaurant review for the largest newspaper in the world to keep her dream job (which is cooking).

All Four Stars

As Ms. Quincy launched into the essay's final paragraph, Gladys used her last few moments of anonymity to glance around the classroom.

• Anonymity: the condition of being anonymous

Unfortunately, the sight of Gladys's excitement made Sandy more petrified, if this was even possible.

• Petrified: so frightened that one is unable to move; terrified.

Charissa shrugged and went back to contemplating the sweets.

• Contemplating: gerund or present participle

Realistic Fiction

By: Nada Toma

Tara Dairman

Rating:

Cooking

• Gladys has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven.
• Cooking makes her way into the heart of her archenemy.

"A scrumptious gem of a story!"

-Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times bestselling author of The False Prince

All Four Stars is an amazing book! It didn't have too much and not too little (273 pages). The author of the book was very creative. It was really like watching a movie while reading it. This book is a little to young for my age, but still I gave it four stars.

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Feeling triumphant and embarrassed, thrilled and confused all at the same time, Gladys let Parm pull her away to the relative safety of the space beneath the monkey bars.

• Triumphant: having won a battle or contest; victorious.

As she sank helplessly back into her seat, she mentally cursed the person who designed the theater with rows so narrow that you couldn't get out without the cooperation of the person next to you, unless you wanted to crawl over her lap or under her legs.

• Cooperation: the process of working together to the same end.

In fact, thousands of readers in the tristate area made this mistake, and then raved that this was the best review Gilbert Gadflay had written in a long time.

• Raved: speak or write about someone or something with great enthusiasm or admiration.

"Readers will be amused by Gladys's reviews of her parents' horrible cooking and her plot to get to New York City without alerting any adults. The triumphant conclusion makes this a tasty read."

-Publishers Weekly

All Four Stars

Her notebook that she keeps samples of her restaurant reviews is important to her. If you noticed in every book cover Gladys is in she has her notebook with her. Because Gladys like cooking, every time she goes to a restaurant she reviews it.

"The characters are well drawn- the snob and her entourage; shy, quit Gladys; her picky-eater friend, Sandy; the literal boy next door; and a teacher who brings out the best in her students. Give this one to your young foodies."

-School Library Journal

Sandy

The literal boy next door

Sandy is important to Gladys:

Recommend books that are similar and written by the same author (Tara Dairman)

• Sandy helped Gladys achieve her goals and dreams by supporting her.
• If Sandy wasn't Gladys' friend, she probably couldn't have achieved her goals and dreams.
• Sandy's mom helped Gladys with advise and ideas about cooking stuff, so if Gladys wasn't Sandy's friend she couldn't get advise from her mom.

"A preteen restaurant critic is born. [An] entertaining story about the joy of following one's bliss."

-Kirkus Reviews

That meant she had to escape within the first thirty minutes of the show to have any hope of getting back to her seat by the end of intermission.

• Intermission: a pause or break.

"Turn it off now, now!" the old lady hissed as she and the man fumbled for their ears.

• Fumbled: use the hands clumsily while doing or handling something.

Gladys was flustered-this wasn't the response she'd expected!

• Flustered: make (someone) agitated or confused.

The author wants to teach us a lesson about the importance of friendship and team work (Sandy and Gladys). She also wants to teach us about following our dreams or goals, like Gladys followed her dream of a cooking job. Tara Dairman also wants us to do everything we can do to achieve our dreams/goals.