25 Roses (mix)

I definitely recommended this book to middle schoolers . . . and to adults who want to feel like they're thirteen again! This book certainly had that innocence I remember and even the meanies that you find along the way in middle school. Stephanie Faris sure knows how to capture the essence of this age group!Mia, the main character, is relatable and super adorable. She comes up with a plan to make Valentines day special for the less popular kids. Tired of seeing the same few kids get all the roses every year, Mia sends 25 anonymous roses to her peers. What she didn't expect was how this thoughtful and selfless act would come back and bite her in her caring heart. It was fun read with a wonderful message!

Mia is one of the sellers of chocolate Valentine roses. Her older sister was a big seller of these roses in the past, and this year the grade who sells the most will get a “lock in” as a reward. So what does Mia do with these things in mind and because she’s a nice person? She buys 25 roses, labels them as being from a secret admirer, and gives them to people who usually wouldn’t get them. Yes, this is a sweet thing to do, but a domino effect of drama between the popular and unpopular and boys and girls ensues. I loved the voice in this. The book is absolutely girly, yet with realistic and serious pre-teen issues.

I loved 25 Roses. What a fun read and it had a wonderful message for folks of all ages. From the moment I opened the cover--which by the way is cute as it can be--I was hooked. I rode right along in the car beside Mia and set with her in her classes. She's a great little protagonist: not perfect but with a wonderfully kind heart. I look forward to more stories from Ms. Faris in the future.

Great reading for my 9 year old. She loved it.

✌️

Mia and her best friend are in charge of selling chocolate roses for the sale at school. The grade that sells the most chocolate roses gets to win a special “lock in” as a reward. When Mia’s older sister was in middle school she won, and Mia wants to win too. Mia knows that only a handful of kids in her grade will actually receive roses, as the popular kids usually get them all. It doesn’t seem fair! Mia thinks it would be a nice idea if more people had their faces light up when the roses get delivered, so she takes things into her own hands. In secret, she creates messages for 25 roses (which she buys) and signs them from “an admirer”. What she expects is smiles and happiness, which she definitely sees when people unexpectedly get a rose. Since the roses she sent aren’t signed, everyone is trying to figure out the mystery, making guesses at who likes them. Mia hadn’t anticipated all the boy girl drama the roses would cause, especially for her and her best friends. Meanwhile someone's leaving roses for Mia, and the messages are making her worried. Who is leaving roses for Mia? Will the drama between the boys and the girls end? Will everyone find out what Mia did? Will Mia and her friends win the lock in? One thing is for sure, matchmaking isn’t as easy as it looks!25 Roses by Stephanie Faris is the first book I've read by this author. I think this is a book that will appeal to girls in grades four and up. Girls who are starting to have crushes on boys will be able to understand the drama going on at Mia’s school. I like that Mia is kind and spends a lot of the book trying to make others smile. I love the idea of brightening up other people’s days with a chocolate rose, and the fact that Mia is nice enough to want more kids to receive roses. I know from experience that sometimes people misunderstand our reasons for doing things, so I worried for Mia at different points in the book. The middle school scene seemed very realistic to me, and I think kids will be able to connect with Mia and relate to the situation at her school.

First, I love this cover. Just adore it. It's the kind of cover that makes you want to open the book, so I was excited to read this. And I wasn't disappointed at all.Mia gets a really brilliant idea to buy roses for the kids in her class who don't ever get roses. All she wants is to make people feel good because she knows what it's like to feel left out or not quite as good as someone else, including her older sister. I loved Mia immediately for this.But there's a problem with Mia's plan. Everyone wants to know who sent the roses, and since Mia is the one who sold them, everyone interrogates her. Mia tries to dodge their questions and pretends she doesn't know who sent them. But sending the roses leads to Mia playing Cupid. Kids are asking her for help talking to their crushes and getting made over. Mia's not sure how everyone came to think she knows about matchmaking and she's not exactly happy about it. Especially since Mia can't even admit to herself that she has a crush of her own.Things begin to get out of control for Mia and she's not sure if she can fix it. What started out as a nice gesture becomes a heap of trouble for Mia.I really loved Mia. I think she had great intentions, so when things started going wrong for her, I felt awful for her. The poor girl was only trying to be nice. But let's face it. Middle school is tough! There's plenty of drama to go around.I couldn't put this book down and my daughter claimed it the second I was finished reading.