Book Review: Felicia the Critic by Ellen Conford (1973)

Felicia is highly critical of everything, from the radio's morning weather report, to the way her family organizes the broom closet. When her mother points out that she ought to be more constructive in her criticism, Felicia takes the advice to heart, but implements it with varying degrees of humor and success. Finally, she decides the best thing to do is just keep quiet, only to discover that sometimes it is appropriate to speak one's mind, in the right circumstances and with the right approach.

I associate Ellen Conford primarily with early teen romances such as those found in her short story collections, If This is Love, I'll Take Spaghetti (1983) and I Love You, I Hate You, Get Lost (1994), both of which I read as a middle schooler. I was a little surprised, therefore, when my husband read this book and then insisted that I immediately read it as well. His recommendation made sense to me, however, after just a couple of chapters. This book is well-told, well-paced, and legitimately funny. Humor is difficult to pull off for any age group, and especially difficult, I think, in a short middle grade novel, but Conford does a great job of making the reader laugh in a way that feels natural, not forced. The fact that she also works a character-building lesson into the story is even more impressive and calls to mind favorite contemporary authors like Andrew Clements and Claudia Mills.

Felicia the Critic has had a few cover make-overs since it was first published, but sadly, it is currently out of print. I'm glad to have our used copy, however, as I have a child who is prone to letting the world know how she feels about anything and everything, and I imagine this will be a useful learning tool as well as an entertaining reading experience for her in another few years.