The Steps by Rachel CohnAnnabel goes to visit her father in Australia, where he has an entire other family that Annabel is jealous of. The front cover has a very useful family tree, although if you try to use it before you start reading the book, you will get very confused. Annabel's father has a step daughter, whom he expects Annabel to like. The stepsister, Lucy, is the last person Annabel wants to like, because she thinks that Lucy has stolen her dad. When they meet, Lucy is very enthusiastic about meeting Annabel, but Annabel's disdain quickly makes Lucy change her mind. When Annabel and Lucy go to a restaurant together, kids from Lucy's school make fun of her, and Annabel decides to stick up for her stepsister. She impresses the bullies so that they try to make friends with Lucy, and so Annabel and Lucy begin to get along.
With Annabel as narrator, this book has a saucy tone and a quick pace. One thing about the story strikes me as unrealistic, though. At the beginning of the story, Annabel's parents prefer to be addressed by their first names, but by the end of the book, they
both ask Annabel to refer to them as Mom and Dad.
Happy reading.
