Word Spelunking

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Lauren Myracle is my literary soulmate. Whenever I read one of her books, even if I'm reading it for the first time, it feels like I'm sitting down with an old and beloved friend...and her tween Flower Power series is no exception.Awesome Blossom is the fourth book in the Flower Power series, which follows the ups and downs in tween life of four fifth grade girls. The FFF's (Flower Friends Forever) Katie-Rose, Yasaman, Milla, and Violet are four very different girls who all have flowery names, and despite their differences, they're a tight group. These girls have had to deal with some difficult stuff, but they persevere together. In Awesome Blossom, the FFF's must once again deal with mean girls, kinda-cute-semi-boyfriend-boys, and doing the right thing even when it's hard.Lauren Myracle is the queen of tween and teen lit! Her writing is laugh-out-loud funny, pitch perfect, wildly entertaining, and often incredibly poignant. Awesome Blossom, like the other books in the series, is an addicting and splendiferious read with a faboo cast of young characters.Myracle constantly amazes me with her ability to capture the tween voice so perfectly and with such humor and heart. This series is full of giggle inducing writing and situations, but also touches on very real and important topics (Milla has two moms, Violet's mom spends time in a psychiatric hospital, girl-on-girl hate, etc). This isn't a squeaky clean series by any means, but it is written in a way that is appropriate for its intended audience, yet doesn't talk down to them either. Myracle really speaks to her audience and not just at them; she really “gets” them. No matter what obstacles or wackiness the girls face in this series, readers are presented with so many wonderful messages about love, friendship, acceptance, and kindness.This series will appeal to a younger generation with its hip, modern format of mixing in IM/Email/Forum/Texts type conversations with its traditional prose.And at the core of the series is the strong, inspiring friendship between the four very different female characters. I absolutely adore the friendship between these girls! Clever Yasaman, sweet Milla, brave Violet, and funny Katie-Rose are fantastically crafted tween characters. I love that readers won't just find one of the girls to relate to, but will see a little of themselves in each girl. I love all four of these cupcakes, but I must admit that loud, unpredictable, hyper Katie-Rose is my fave.In Awesome Blossom the FFF's must deal with a group of mean girls called the Evil Chicks, must save the new girl from becoming an Evil Chick, and begin the awkward and scary and confusing and awesome exploration of boy/girl relationships...and I enjoyed every moment of it!MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Awesome Blossom bakes my cupcakes and rocks my socks off! The Flower Power series simply shines with its awesome storytelling and fantabulous characters. I can't recommend this series enough, especially to tween readers. An absolute MUST read book in a MUST read series!