Mango Delight

Trade Paperback

Mango is as delightful as her middle name indicates, and middle-grade readers will easily recognize their own experiences in her friendship struggles. Booklist (starred review) What happens when your BFF becomes your EFF . . . EX-Friend-Forever? When seventh-grader Mango Delight Fuller accidentally breaks her BFF Brooklyn s new cell phone, her life falls apart. She loses her friends and her spot on the track team, and even costs her father his job as a chef. But Brooklyn s planned revenge sneakily signing up Mango to audition for the school musical backfires when Mango not only wins the lead role, but becomes a YouTube sensation and attracts the attention of the school s queen bee, Hailey Jo. Hailey Jo is from a VERY wealthy family, and expects everyone to do her bidding. Soon Mango finds herself forced to make tough choices about the kind of friend she wants to have . . . and, just as important, the kind of friend she wants to be. * Hyman marries traditional tween elements with a fresh and original plot, and his multicultural cast sparkles with individuality and authenticity. . . . Hyman s supporting characters, both kids and adults, are vivid and dynamic. Mango is as delightful as her middle name indicates, and middle-grade readers will easily recognize their own experiences in her friendship struggles. This is Hyman s first novel; here s hoping it s not his last. Booklist (Starred review) [T]he characters . . . are deftly crafted, and their relationships play out in ways that carefully avoid cliche. . . . Mango s supportive family is also well drawn, particularly her comforting Jamaican immigrant father and her no-nonsense, former athlete African-American mom, who s a loving but demanding figure. Kids who d settle for making it through middle school unscathed but still dream of shining in it will find a kindred spirit in Mango. Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books