Feeling like a bit of an ugly duckling after getting glasses and losing a bunch of baby teeth, second grader Karen Brewer thinks that getting a fashionable new haircut will make her feel like her glamorous self again. Except the hairdresser ignores Karen's request and chops off a lot of her hair so that she has a short pixie cut she doesn't like. Further, her friends and classmates also don't like Karen's new hairdo -- they laugh at her and keep her out of their plans. How can Karen respond to this?

This book is all about growing pains and those awkward feelings of changing without having any control over it. As someone who once had a hairdresser completely push aside the stated request because it came from an elementary schooler and cut off enough hair to cause tears, I can completely feel Karen's pain! Things that aren't that big of a deal for adults are absolutely a huge deal for young children. Karen tries her best to solve it all on her own, and actually does a pretty good job of settling everything just among the children. Eventually everyone comes to realize that outer beauty doesn't matter when you are still yourself on the inside.

I didn't necessarily super love the ongoing obsession with fellow second graders getting married to one another (nor the tired cliche of a young boy *obviously* having a crush on a young girl if he's rude and teases her), but overall this was an entertaining, quick read. ( )