Mia the Meek

MIA THE MEEK by Eileen Boggess
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 12/1/06
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Reviewed by: Dianna Geers
Rating: 5 Stars

In MIA THE MEEK, Mia is determined to no longer be known as meek. Especially when she is about to begin high
school. High school is her new chance to shed her old meek self and to blossom as someone outgoing. Someone fun.
Someone not meek.

Readers are aware of the fact that Mia has the potential for non-meekness. She can certainly show snippy behavior
towards her mother and her little brother. "You're not really going to wear that, are you?" and "If your brain was chocolate,
it wouldn't fill an M&M" are a few or Mia's not-so-meek comments that make you wonder why she has such a problem
standing up for herself with anyone outside of her family.

Perhaps her snippiness at home is a result of the verbal abuse she takes at school. Cassie and her friends are not afraid to
tell her she is "so ugly she'd make blind kids cry," and seem to love to let Mia know when she has done anything not
meeting their approval. In spite of the way they treat her, Mia still trusts enough to share some of her deepest secrets with
people who use them against her. She fails to recognize that when Cassie asks her if she's wearing make-up that she should
ignore them or say something smart. Instead Mia lets them know that she's not allowed to wear make-up. Her heartfelt
answers let you know that she is ever hopeful of others.

Of course being non-meek is not as easy as Mia hopes. Then there's the fact that her mother is her teacher, that incident
involving wearing a suit of armor, class president elections, crushes, and all of those other potentially embarrassing,
potentially strength-building events in teenagers' lives.

Mia's situations are presented with quirky humor so you are able to feel her pain, but are also able to laugh at the absurdity
of adolescence. She is a witty heroine that readers will enjoy bonding with.

MIA THE MEEK is the first novel for Eileen Boggess and is the beginning of the Mia Fullerton series.