Anastasia Krupnik answers a personal ad, and by stretching the truth, finds herself in quite a predicament when the special "he" wants to meet her.
April 29, 1991
At 13, the inimitable Anastasia Krupnik is ready for romance--if not with the immature boys at school, then perhaps with the mysterious and intriguing 28-year-old ``SWM'' whose personals ad catches her eye. Adopting her own carefully chosen acronym and interpreting the truth liberally in response to SWM's queries, Anastasia sets in motion a memorable and hilarious exchange. When it appears her correspondent may come to town and want to meet, her scheme threatens to backfire as only Anastasia's schemes can. Though Lowry's ( Number the Stars ) plot relies too heavily on coincidence, Anastasia herself is at her best here: headstrong, inventive, endearing and irrepressible, though not above learning from her mistakes. Ages 8-12.
August 1, 1991
Gr 5-7- -Look out world-Anastasia is a teenager! At 13, she has renounced boys, but not men. Using a code name, SWIFTY, Anastasia has answered a personals ad in the New York Review of Books . Her correspondence frames the story, which also involves her participation as a junior bridesmaid in a wedding. It is Sam, Anastasia's three-year-old brother, who is responsible for the wedding finale that hinges on a word play. The warmth and humor readers have come to expect are present in ample measure here. New fans of Anastasia, who question Sam's precociousness, can be happily referred to All About Sam (Houghton, 1988). As for Anastasia, the long hand of coincidence brings her correspondence to a timely end. -Amy Kellman, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
June 29, 1992
The Newbery Medalist's irrepressible heroine is in top form as, deciding she's ready for romance, she answers a personals ad--with typically hilarious results. Ages 9-12.
January 1, 1991
In her ninth book, thirteen-year-old Anastasia contemplates men and marriage. She answers an ad in the personals column of her father's magazine, and later discovers her SWM - single white male - pen pal at a friend's wedding. A book for Anastasia fans.
(Copyright 1991 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)