Mallory and Mary Ann Take New York

By: Laurie Friedman
Publisher: Darby Creek Publishing
Publication Date: January 2013
ISBN: 978-0761360742
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: April 2013

Mallory McDonald, age ten and a half, wanted to be a fashion designer more than anything. Well, almost anything. Fashion Fran was going to have a “Design Your Dream Outfit Contest” and Mallory and her BFF, Mary Ann, were planning on winning it. The popcorn was ready and Fashion Fran was going to announce how to enter the contest. It was soooo exciting and they’d been waiting for weeks for the big announcement. Max, Mallory’s BIG, annoying brother, grabbed the remote because he wanted to check out some sports scores. Not. “Are you crazy?!?” she yelled. “Mary Ann and I have a V.I.S. show to watch.” Fashion Fran was a “Very Important Show” and no way were they going to watch sports.

The “Design Your Dream Outfit Contest” was going to be Mallory’s chance to be on a V.I.S. and she was planning on winning. There was only one problem and that was Mary Ann. “All we have to do is make a pinky swear,” she claimed. “If one of us wins, we’ll figure out a way to both go on the show.” Time was running out and they had to submit their drawings. Skinny jeans, a tunic top, sunglasses, a wig, and a few more things and Mallory was done, or so she thought. It wasn’t long before George the mailman brought her a letter. Miss Mallory McDonald had won the contest and only the winner could go on the show. How on earth was Mallory going to get Mary Ann on Fashion Fran’s?

Mallory is in big time trouble when she makes a pinky swear with Mary Ann she can’t keep. Naturally it’s a huge problem because Mary Ann is her “lifelong best friend” and a pinky swear is well, a pinky swear. The girls went to Washington before (Red, White & True Blue Mallory), but New York City is the trip of a lifetime. It’s a huge opportunity to be on a V.I.S., Fashion Fran’s, but it looks like there’s big time trouble on the horizon that even a pinky swear can’t seem to remedy. When they play the “Quiet Game,” they stop speaking to each other and things go downhill practically from the time they get off the plane. The little twist at the end is ingenious, making this Mallory book one of the best I’ve read. If you haven’t met Mallory, age ten and a half, you’re in for a real treat!

Quill says: If you love Mallory, you're going to enjoy her zany trip to New York City with her BBF, Mary Ann!