Booklist - 08/01/2011 With more than a little of Ramona Quimby in her blood, Pearl is quite a character. A creative fourth-grader who’s a tad immature (her best friend is in first grade), she annoys her eighth-grade sister, Lexie, by doing eccentric things (e.g., walking about in her underwear). Pearl narrates how she tries to win back at least a little of Lexie’s respect the year the girls’ grandfather comes to live with them in New York City. The move forces the girls to share Lexie’s room, hence the titular rules. Martin handles Pearl’s maturation deftly: step by step, the inveterate list maker relates not only how she learns to handle her reactions to her sister’s provocations but how she smartens her response to mean classmates and deals with a beloved grandparent losing his sense of reality. By the time Pearl’s birthday rolls around, readers will be convinced she truly deserves her own key to the family’s apartment—a symbol Pearl equates with being as grown-up as Lexie. An enjoyable read for fans of realistic fiction, leavened with humor. - Copyright 2011 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 10/01/2011 Gr 4–7—Nine-year-old Pearl Littlefield always seems to be saying and doing the wrong thing. Consequently her older sister ignores her, or worse, hangs a "no Pearl allowed" sign on her bedroom door. Pearl wants very badly for Lexie to include her in her life and comes up with 10 rules to help her not to annoy her sibling. She finds that when she tries to follow them, she and Lexie get along better. When the girls' grandfather comes to live with them, Pearl has to move in to Lexie's bedroom. Both of the girls knows this isn't going to be easy and they have to adjust to make it work. Filled with humor and realistic family situations, the story takes an emotional turn when it becomes evident that their beloved grandfather has dementia. Sibling rivalry, distracted parents, and aging grandparents aren't new elements in children's literature but Martin's expertise at capturing a character's authentic voice brings a high level of depth and meaning to this work. The longing to be like her sister comes across loud and clear and will resonate with readers who are, or have, younger siblings or are just trying to find their way with various relationships. Give this book to those who have loved Beverly Cleary's Beezus and Ramona (Morrow, 1955) and to graduates of Peggy Gifford's "Moxy Maxwell" stories (Random).—Tina Martin, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, IL - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/2011 Nine-year-old Pearl Littlefield can’t understand her thirteen-year-old sister, Lexie, who always seems to be mad at Pearl. Furthermore, thanks to the Three Bad Things that happened last year at school (wearing Mickey Mouse ears for show-and-tell when there was no show-and-tell, wetting her pants in class, and getting separated from her group on a field trip), Pearl is also friendless, except for first-grader Justine, who lives across the hall in the same apartment building. Pearl’s relationship with her sister gets both trickier and deeper when they must share a room to accommodate their grandfather, Daddy Bo, who needs care while he recovers from a nasty fall. Gradually, it becomes clear that Daddy Bo won’t be returning to his home, and his increasing forgetfulness results in an impromptu bus trip with Pearl back to his now-sold home in New Jersey. Although the pacing occasionally lags, Martin manages to juggle all of her plot pieces effectively, and Pearl’s voice is believable in its youthful bewilderment at the actions of both her older sister (“I didn’t know why she got so embarrassed about some things, but she did, and when she was embarrassed she got mad. Usually at me”) and Daddy Bo. The situation with Daddy Bo provides genuine drama and emotion, just as Pearl’s internal commentary and the comic family situations provide genuine humor. The imaginative, artistic Pearl is a likable character, and girls with sisters will easily recognize themselves in either Pearl or Lexie. Fans of Megan McDonald’s Sisters Club books or Beverly Cleary’s Ramona series will particularly enjoy this slice of sibling life. JH - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.