Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life by Barbara Dee

The thing is, even after she does realize as much Cassie continues to try to be friendly with them and ignore Bess, the girl who is obviously going to be a way better friend in the long run.Īs the novel progresses, Dee tries to show Cassie growing as a character. But Cassie doesn’t see that right away, fine she’s only twelve. After the first few pages of the novel it’s clear that her old friends (the ones who ignore her now) were jerks and that she is better off without them. My first issue is that Cassie is really shallow. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make her a particularly real or likable character. And she works really hard to try and handle all of that. Thanks to her neglectful sister and overworked mother, Cassie is largely the only one paying attention to family concerns. And how Cassie picks herself up again afterwards.Ĭassie is definitely a strong character. This novel is the story of why and how those efforts fail.

Shunned by her old friends, hated by her English teacher, and utterly unnoticed at home–Cassie tries to deal with all of her mounting problems on her own. That was all before Cassie’s father “left the picture” and the remaining family had to move into a “unit” house in the poorer part of town. Six-year-old Jackson never used to spend so much time alone in his room. Her older sister, Miranda, didn’t have to worry about doing the shopping after school. twelve-year-old Cassie used to be on the swim team at their sports club. They had a nice, sufficiently large house. The story revolves around Cassie and her family, specifically her mother and siblings.Ĭassie’s family used to be a lot like the other family’s in her upscale neighborhood. Just Another Day In My Insanely Real Life (2006) is Barbara Dee’s first novel (previous careers for Dee include lawyer, high school English teacher, and book reviewer).

Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life by Barbara Dee