Review Detail

Millicent Magnus (who likes to be called Millie Magnus) is an exuberant eight year old whose mother is the mayor of Washington D.C.. Since her father has passed away, Millie Magnus is often cared for by her mother's assistant, Josephine, who has a lot of rules about behavior. Not being a big fan of rules, Millie oftens squabbles with Josephine, and also has some trouble with self control in school. Since there is a family field day she is very much looking forward to, it's even harder to behave. She has several good friends in Poppy, Atticus, and "Lunchbox", but struggles with school bully Buckley as he makes fun of her, her hair, and her friends. When Millie Magnus finds that she will have to compete against Buckley on field day, she's not happy, especially since her mother won't be able to make it to the event, and she'll have to compete with Josephine. After Buckley makes fun of her in class and Millie Magnus verbally retaliates, she's sent to the office, and the principal sends her home. After telling her mother, there is a meeting with the principal scheduled to address Buckley's behavior. At field day, when Josephine is injured in practice, Millie Magnus manages to talk to Buckley and find out what is making him act out. The two manage to broker a tenuous peace, and even compete together. This is the first book in a new series.