Chloe Taylor (1)

In the second book in the Sew Zoey series, things are going great for Zoey on the fashion front: She meets a real designer who tells her she should enter a big sewing contest, and she finds out that her idol, Daphne Shaw, is a fan of her blog! But off the runway, Zoey's having friend trouble times two. First her best friend Kate gets her braces off and starts getting a lot of attention from boys, including Zoey's crush, Lorenzo. Is she still the same sweet Kate on the inside? Then Zoey's show more newest friend, Libby, thinks Zoey is friends with her only because her aunt is one of the contest judges. Zoey thought fashion emergencies were tough; but compared to friendship emergencies, they're a cinch. How can she prove that she's friends with Libby for the right reasons and fix her relationship with Kate? In a way that is totally Zoey! show less

The SEW ZOEY series is really different. Unlike series for Tweens and Teens like DORK DIARIES and DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, these books are all about doing creative things. Almost, but not quite, how-to instructions.

The main character is Zoey, a girl with two close friends, a brother and father, and supportive aunt. (Her mother passed away when she was a baby.) And in this first book, they help her to start a Blog about one of her favorite things, Fashion!

Zoey draws and draws and her friends are show more impressed with her designs, but Zoey doesn't know anything about blogging or sewing... which is pretty much going to be the case with real girls in her age bracket. The great thing about the book is that the author, Chloe Taylor, describes some of the basics about how a girl would go about learning to sew. She defines common terms, for example, like what a 'notion' is; and she gives pointers like how one really shouldn't cut out patterns on a bed.

I think a girl who went with her mom to a fabric store, would know what to expect.

Overall, this is a squeaky clean book without a lot of plot surprises. There are the super supportive friends, and the trouble making rich girls. But the book is well written, and the story is really a great way to present information about blogging and sewing in a kid-friendly fashion.

I looked for reading information, but as I write this, there isn't any. So if reading level is important I suggest you have your reader try the sample pages.

Pam T~ show less

Over the summer, fashion-loving Zoey Webber gets the best news ever: Her middle school is getting rid of uniforms! There’s just one problem. Zoey has sketchbooks full of fashion designs, but nothing to wear! So with a little help from her best friends Kate and Priti, she learns to make her own clothes. She even begins to post her fashion design sketches online in a blog. That’s how the Sew Zoey blog begins, and soon it becomes much more. Zoey’s quirky style makes her a bit of a misfit show more at middle school, but her Sew Zoey blog quickly gains a dedicated following. Real fashion designers start to read it! Yet even as her blog takes off, Zoey still has to deal with homework, crushes, and P.E. class. And when the principal asks her to design a dress for the school’s fashion-show fund-raiser, Zoey can’t wait to start sewing! But what will happen when her two worlds collide? show less