The Trouble with Zinny Weston
Product Description Ava's best friendship with Zinny is perpetually tested by their conflicting opinions about animals, a situation that erupts when Zinny's mother is reported to the Animal Protection Agency for hurting raccoons. A first novel. From Publishers Weekly In her first novel, Koss (Where Fish Go in Winter) presents a memorable duo, Ava and Zinny, neighbors in a brand-new development. The fifth graders have a lot in common besides their identical houses. They share wacky senses of humor, high aspirations (Ava wants to be a singer; Zinny a costume designer) and fearless imaginations. On the other hand, Ava has one dog, a lizard, two birds, two hermit crabs, two rats and a bunny, while Zinny and her mother think that animals are "filthy" and carry disease. Trouble brews when Zinny's mother kills a raccoon that has eaten all the koi in her designer fishpond. Someone calls the Animal Protection Society and Zinny mistakenly thinks it is Ava. While Zinny and her parents come off as a little too cold-hearted (and may alienate pet owners), Ava is both convincing and charismatic, and Koss clearly knows the dynamics of middle-school friendships and how small misunderstandings can explode into war. Ava's soul-searching during her spat with Zinny raises pertinent questions about human versus animal rights. Readers' opinions may sway before the girls resolve their differences and swear "never to blame each other for the stuff that's not our fault." Ages 9-12. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Grade 4-6-Ava has a difficult time in fifth grade until Zinny Weston moves to town. Not only is Zinny quick with a good comeback in response to a bully's insults, but she also has big dreams, just like Ava. The girls swiftly become friends: nevertheless, there is one big difference between their families that inevitably causes problems. Ava's parents are veterinarians and all three of them love animals; Zinny and her parents do not. Trouble brews when Mrs. Weston is accused of drowning a raccoon. Zinny assumes that Ava is responsible for reporting her mother to the authorities, and the girls' friendship deteriorates. Ava struggles with loneliness and with ethical issues concerning the treatment of animals. She and Zinny eventually resolve their differences in a believable way and the book ends with a rekindling of their friendship. Told in the first person, this fast-paced contemporary story has well-developed characters and typical preteen problems. Readers will enjoy meeting these characters. Mary M. Hopf, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Gr. 3^-5. A warm, funny friendship story gets serious when the friends quarrel about a case of animal cruelty. Ava tells how she and Zinny hit it off from the day they meet in the fifth grade, wisecracking and acting out, wallowing in gruesome horror stories, snorting with laughter. Ava's parents are both veterinarians, and her beloved personal pets include a German shepherd, two rats, a lizard, two lovebirds, two hermit crabs, and Honey Bunny, but Zinny's family is grossed out by animals, and Zinny's only contact with a rabbit is her bunny-fur jacket. Then someone reports Zinny's mother for the cruel entrapment and drowning of a raccoon, and the girls' friendship explodes into an ugly standoff. There's some contrived plotting about who reported whom, but middle-graders will enjoy this first novel for the friend/enemy drama (after the fight, Ava feels "ashamed, hurt, guilty, innocent, confused, and sorry all at once") and for the sympathetic open discussion of animal rights. Why is one raccoon's death such a big deal? How do you balance human and animal rights? Hazel Rochman From Kirkus Reviews In this fast-paced, entertaining first novel, Ava learns that friendship rises above differing opinions, upbringings, and parents. Ava is thrilled when exciting Zinn