Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear

by Norma Mazer and Norma Fox Mazer

Book Overview

Ten years after WHEN SHE WAS GOOD launched Arthur A. Levine Books, Mazer brings us TEN WAYS TO MAKE MY SISTER DISAPPEAR, a humorous look at a blistering sister rivalry. Everything ten year-old Sprig wants, her older sister Dakota already has. Everything Sprig does, Dakota does better. And anytime Sprig complains, Dakota just grins and calls her a baby. It's enough to make a kid wish her sister would disappear. But in a year when Sprig's father is...

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0545105889
• ISBN13: 9780545105880
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Scholastic

Customer Reviews

Ten ways to make my sister disappear

This book arrived quickly and was in great shape! As good as new!! Thank you.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Sprig is only ten years old - but she has a ton of problems. For one, her dad just left to go to Washington, D.C., on a business trip. Sprig absolutely hates it when her dad has to go away because she knows she will miss him every minute of the day. This time is worse then before, however, since he will be gone for six weeks. Then there is Sprig's pesky older sister, Dakota, who thinks that because she just turned twelve, she can be the boss of Sprig. Always correcting Sprig, stealing her questions, and getting to talk to their dad first whenever he calls annoys Sprig very much. It gets worse when Dakota befriends the very mean Krsytee, who Sprig knows is a bad influence on her sister. What's Sprig to do to cope with her sibling situation? She comes up with a list of ten possible ways of Dakota disappearing. The list includes baking her sister into a cookie and crunching Dakota if she was a cucumber. Sprig's adventures continue when she finds out her father has to travel all the way to another country that she knows isn't safe, she becomes a hero, a boy enters her life, problems with her best friend stir up, and she discovers that maybe her sister isn't so bad after all! TEN WAYS TO MAKE MY SISTER DISAPPEAR was a very quick and easy read that contained so many wonderful events that made this novel heartwarming and well worth reading. Any child who has a family member away from home or a bossy older sibling can easily relate to what Sprig is going through. Mazer creates a story that the whole family can enjoy before bedtime. The book definitely exceeded my expectations, and once it is read, you will definitely want more of Sprig! Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Sure to be a comfort to little sisters and an enjoyable story for many young readers

It's not easy being a little sister. These days, for 10-year-old Sprig Ewing it's harder than ever. Her father is headed for Afghanistan, her elderly neighbor had a stroke and the biggest pest at school just may have a crush on her. To make matters worse, her sister Dakota won't stop teasing her. Sprig just wishes she could make Dakota disappear, and to make herself feel better, she imagines how she would do it. Sprig is the sensitive and sweet protagonist of Norma Fox Mazer's TEN WAYS TO MAKE MY SISTER DISAPPEAR. Sprig imagines Dakota floating away on an Antarctic ice floe, melting into a puddle of water, being crumbled and tossed away like a piece of paper. Still, there is no way to avoid the fact that Dakota is in her life to stay. If only Dakota were a kinder big sister. Instead, Dakota takes a housesitting job that should have been Sprig's from Miss Ruthie next door and tells their dad all the news before Sprig can get on the phone to talk to him. Plus, Dakota allows snotty friend Krystee to make fun of Sprig without defending her. Sprig wishes she could have Judge Judy throw Dakota in the slammer (#2 on the list of ways to make her sister disappear). Dakota is not really that bad of a sister at all --- it's just that, to the Ewing girls, the two years between them seem so vast. By the end of the book, they realize they are both struggling with the same things: concern for their neighbor, negotiating friendships with girls, trying to understand their changing relationships with boys, and especially, missing their father and worrying about his safety. They may not like each other all the time, but Sprig and Dakota love each other and learn they will be there for one another when it counts most. Mazer's prose has a nice rhythm, and the dialogue feels authentic. Sprig is a gentle character but with a real resilience to her. TEN WAYS TO MAKE MY SISTER DISAPPEAR successfully explores sibling relationships but also touches lightly and earnestly on other topics such as the war in Afghanistan. This short novel is sure to be a comfort to little sisters and an enjoyable story for many young readers. --- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

A poignant, realistic story evolves.

Norma Fox Mazer's TEN WAYS TO MAKE MY SISTER DISAPPEAR tells of ten-year-old Sprig, who wants everything her older sister Dakota has. But Dakota has it all - and does everything better, too - until a key year when Sprig's father is away and the class bully acts like a friend. A poignant, realistic story evolves.