Lifes looking up for thirteen-year-old Sassy Wilde: the recording studio execs have come a-knocking, and her new-found fame has catapulted her to the top of the totem pole of school popularity. But Sassys not the type to let fame to go her head. Shes going to use the publicity to right the worlds wrongs, save the whales, and educate others about global warming. And do it all without bearing a midriff or being caught up in a scandal.
But Sassys good intentions are her own undoing. Her in-the-bag recording contract is vetoed at the last minute after concerns that she may get a bit PETA on the countrys major music chains, and her best friends conservative mother freaks out about Sassys latest protest, enforcing a strict no-visit policy between the two. Two out of the three best things in Sassys life have just gone up in smoke, but theres always Twig, her sort-of boyfriend, right? But Twig, as his name might suggest, is perhaps a bit young for all this moony romantic stuff, and seems way more inclined to spend his days working on his ollies on his skateboard.
Oh, how quickly the mighty can fall. Sassy, like any young teen, does the only thing that makes any sense in this situation: she throws in the towel on the lot of it, and sets about trying to become a modern day Mother Theresa. Music? Who needs it, anyway?
Having pawned off her guitar and tossed her song lyrics, Sassy throws herself into good samaritanism. And when Sassys best friends family is caught up in a terrible earthquake in Pakistan, Sassy wants to do her bit to help out. Fund-raising, obviously, is the way to go, but Sassy realises pretty quickly that her best chance of making a difference is sitting in the window of the local pawn shop. But can she really go back to music after all the heartache its caused her?
Seriously Sassy Crazy Days caught me out. Perhaps its all that gold foiling on the cover, or the ditzy sounding title, but I definitely took a deep breath of preparedness before launching into this one. But as it turns out, there was no need to do so. Its a light and easy read for sure, but its spot on, too. Though its the third in the Sassy series, it stands well enough on its own, and Gibson does an excellent job of working in the details from the previous books on a need-to-know basis; you wont feel as though youre lost in a narrative wilderness if you start with this one.
And honestly, theres so much to like here. The writings chatty and witty without being alienatingly so (I even merrily endured the footnotes, which I ordinarily balk at), and Sassy herself is thoroughly enjoyable to spend a few hundred pages with. Shes'passionate and kind-hearted, and shes brimming with optimism and humour. But thats not say that shes an angelic dullard: though she makes her decisions with the best of intentions, she constantly finds herself caught up in the unexpected, and often hilarious, shenanigans that result. Poor Sassy is the very epitome of the adage no good turn goes unpunished, and yet she presses on with that black-and-white mindfulness thats so familiar in kids this age, doing everything she can to make things better and live up to her promises.
Shes surrounded by a rich cast of friends, family and teachers that all add their bit to the plot, and though everyones as nice as pie, theyre surprisingly well-rounded and easily differentiated from each other. In addition to the main plot about Sassy having to make a tough decision about her music career in order to do her bit to help her friends family, there are plenty of little subplots on the go, and all of which serve to round out the novel without making it feel bloated. Its a feel-good read from start to finish, and given that I read this on perhaps the mopiest, drizzliest day that Melbournes ever seen (my shoes are still wet), it was exactly what I needed.
Rating: 
(excellent)
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Other books by Maggi Gibson:
It is amazing to me that I continue to judge what a book will be like by its cover, even though Im constantly ughing (its a word) and lamenting the fact that it seems the cover artist/designer must not have read the book. I just finished reading Bitterblue, and according to the cover it looks like a light hearted YA read, and then opens with domestic abuse. . . Um. However, like you, I found myself immersed in the story.
The Seriously Sassy series looks like something I might have to pick up also, in spite of the gold foiling and childish font.
I always judge books Im not familiar with by their coversif its an unknown quantity, its the only information youve got to go on! And I cant count the times Ive said to my husband, look, I know its got a crap cover, but :) But I do prefer a crap cover to a misleading one. Misleading ones honestly drive me nuts.
Of course, thats not to say that this one is a crap cover at allits probably perfectly suited to its target market. Im probably just a wee bit old to be seen toting around something like this! I should just buy one of those book covers you can slip over the top of your books so that you can pretend youre reading something lofty and important. I might make one, in fact, that says thinking deep thoughts