Grow Up, Tahlia Wilkins by Karina Evans
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publishing Date: April 19, 2022
Synopsis:
Debut author Karina Evans gives modern-day readers their own version of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret with a fun romp about friendship, puberty, and growing up.
Twelve-year-old Tahlia Wilkins is ready to kick off the perfect summer at the popular kid’s pool party. But when the Red Goddess of Panties, aka her first period, arrives 24 hours before the pool party, it messes up all her plans. To make matters worse, her mom is out of town, and there’s no way she’s going to ask her dad for help! Tahlia always feared that growing up would be tough, but this is just not fair.
In order to save herself from total embarrassment, it will take all of Tahlia and her best friend Lily’s scheming to keep her reputation—and her favorite jeans—from being ruined. Sneak off to the grocery store only to have the clerk price check your “goods” over the loudspeaker? Check. Trick your mature teenage neighbor into letting you use her bathroom to ‘rehome’ some tampons? Check. Take a dip into a fountain to ‘borrow’ some quarters for a bathroom period product dispenser? Check, check, check!
With the hilarious and heartwarming tone of Dork Diaries and the critically-acclaimed movie Eighth Grade, Grow Up, Tahlia Wilkins! is a coming-of-age middle-grade novel about growing up, in all of its awkward glory.
Book Links:
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grow-up-tahlia-wilkins-karina-evans/1139954922?ean=9780316168755
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Grow-Up-Tahlia-Wilkins-Karina-Evans/9780316168755?ref=grid-view&qid=1645223254674&sr=1-1
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316168755
About the Author:
Karina Evans is a children’s author from Santa Barbara, California. She is represented by Jessica Mileo at InkWell Management.
Karina studied English at the University of Delaware before starting a career in the entertainment industry. She works in marketing for Sony Pictures and has previously worked for Lucasfilm and Paramount Pictures.
Some of Karina’s favorite things are: See’s Candies, The Amazing Race, singing show tunes in the car, and volleyball. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two mischievous cats, Sir Pounce and Taika.
Author Links:
Website: https://karinaevans.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/karinaewrites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karinaevanswrites/
Tour Schedule:
First off I like to thank TBR Tours & Beyond and the Publishers for giving me a spot and sending me a Netgalley Arc of Grow Up Tahlia Wilkins by Karina Evans. At first I was really excited to read as the main subject matter is about an important change in a girl's life but instead I got a very obnoxious main character who only could think about what has happened to her and the pool party. Some of the escapades were to me a little bit far fetched and actually not what a main character should be doing. I admit I found this very hard going and I found myself getting fed up with Tahlia and did think about DNFing but changed my mind as Tahlia's friend Lily saved the day. So I carried on. Lily was an amazing friend to Tahlia and I think she took advantage of her and never checked in to see how Lily was and it was very clear that something was going on with Lily but whenever she tried to talk about it Tahlia trumped it and went on about herself again.
Later on there was a change in Tahlia but for me as the reader it was a little too late. This book could of been a very important which young girls who needed something to help them through their periods but instead there were too many comedic events. Also asking your Dad for help when your Mum isn't there is not as embarrassing as you think. For all these reasons I am giving it 3 stars