The Humiliations of Pipi McGee is all about 8th grader Pipi, who is determined to find redemption for all her humiliating moments from kindergarten to seventh grade. However, Pipi's unrelenting focus on "The List" of moments she needs to rectify lead to her making some bad choices. This book has a relatable, well-developed cast of characters, and the messages of the book (hurt people hurt people, for example) are sure to resonate with middle schoolers.

Pipi (pronounced Peepee by her tormentors) has a list. Every school year beginning with Kindergarten has been marked by a notable event that has added to her misery. Her Kindergarten drawing of herself as bacon with boobs is imprinted on my brain. Now she is in 8th grade and determined to redeem herself before high school. Her plan is to undo each humiliation--even if that requires heaping humiliation on others.She soon realizes is that what a wise Kindergarten teacher said is true: "Hurt people hurt people." Her plans to right wrongs done to her inevitably affect more than just the offenders and become an unhealthy obsession. The talent show climax is heartbreaking and inspiring. This book has very mature themes for middle grade including a classmate of Pipi's who comes out at a poetry reading with a poem entitled "Confused." Should be in the teen section.

Thank you to Running Press Kids and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pipi McGee has had a string of accidents happen to her every year of school and every year she is determined that year will be the best. When we meet her going into 8th grade this is exactly what she is proclaiming to her best friend. This mentality quickly changes when kindergarten self-portraits are displayed in an school assembly on the first day -- 5-year-old Pipi drew herself as bacon with boobs. Pipi decides that if she wants to put an end to these humiliating incidents she either needs to redeem herself or get revenge for each of those actions.

This is such a great MG book, I loved Pipi -- let's all be honest we have had a Pipi moment at some point in our lives. I love the message of this book and how we see Pipi grow and realize that first impressions aren't always what they appear. This is such a great book, especially for anyone having a difficult time in middle school because let's be honest those are some rough years!

Seriously this book was like going back in time to Middle School. I can't say whether I enjoyed this book so much because I related to the Pippy so much (pipi....pepper) or if it was because the writing even for a child's book is really great!

On my rare attempts to read books targeting children younger than high school, I am always glad when I find a gem which I thoroughly enjoy despite being decades older than the characters. This was one such book.

Pipi Mcgee wants to leave middle school as Penelope McGee and not carry the multiple issues that have plagued her over the years from the first grade. Unfortunately for her, she does not start this year with a flourish either. This spurs into action, and she lists out the things that she needs to change/erase from people's memory in order to move forward. This is an ambitious plan and she's looking at everything with hindsight that she thinks is appropriate. She then proceeds to get lost in her plan and forget what she actually meant to do. The plotline is not unique, there are no special twists along the way (at least for adults) but the narration and all the characters were adorable. There was so much that everyone brought into the story, the sudden bursts of humour and I need to iterate the fact that the characters were brilliant. The good, the bad and the in-between were described in a very interesting fashion and it kept me hooked. I actually read this in one sitting and would recommend it to anyone who has the time or the inclination to read a book about a girl who finds herself and her journey on that discovery (and how the supporting cast actually supports her all the way!)

I also think it presents a very positive feel to readers who might empathize with some of Pipi's troubles, even I had some flashbacks with a few situations!

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.

Every kid can relate to this book. Pipi is a character everyone will root for. This story is high interest with a great message. Can’t wait to add it to my classroom library.

The Humiliations of Pipi McGee
by Beth Vrabel

Perseus Books, Running Press

Running Press Kids

Children's Fiction , Middle Grade

Pub Date 17 Sep 2019


I am reviewing a copy of The Humiliations Of Pipi McGee through Perseus Books/Running Press and Netgalley:





If you you a middle grade girl, then I would recommend The Humiliations Of Pipi McGee. The book tells the story of Pipi McGee with humor and heart.


For the first eight years of Pipi’s educational life she has experienced a curriculum in humiliation but now she is looking for redemption and maybe even a dose of revenge.



In kindergarten it was her self portrait as bacon with breasts, in fourth grade she peed her pants in the library due to a zipper that was stuck, and she never talks about seventh grade.




Hearing the guidance counselor talk about how high school will be a clean slate for everyone, Pipi McGee fear her humiliations will follow her to the halls of Northbrook High School, she decides to spend her last year in middle school righting the wrongs she had experienced in the earlier years of her education and save others from being picked on the way she was. Pipi McGee is looking for redemption but age will take revenge too.



I give The Humiliations Of Pipi McGee five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

The Humiliations of Pipi McGee is reminiscent of many of Judy Blume's books: a young female protagonist, navigating the world with her own set of insecurities and desires, learning through trial and error. The first half of the book felt particularly...dramatic, with a lot of bickering between Pipi and her friends. The story took a turn about half way through, as Pipi's pursuit of reparation for her humiliations come crashing in. The subplot about Frau Jacobs and her own experience of bullying was touching, and reinforced the message of the book "hurt people hurt people." I enjoyed witnessing Pipi's emotional growth - just the right amount of funny and more serious matter. The book did drag on at times, and Annie's character seemed a lot older than her 4-5 years of age mentioned in the book. Overall, an entertaining read that will appeal to readers who enjoy a lot of school drama and relational tension.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the Advance Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my introduction to the writing of Beth Vrabel. The Humiliations of Pip McGee By Beth Vrabel had me laughing, cringing, and entertained through out. Pipi is a genuine and relatable character. Pipi is surrounded by diverse characters.

I think that this would be a great book for all middle schoolers should read as it deals with bullies. It demonstrates how one person can make a change.

It was an enjoyable read.

An excellent book for middle school students that touches on those awkward years! Pipi tries to fix her humiliations from the past in order to have the best year ever when she goes on to high school, but as middle schoolers know, sometimes you make things worse when you try to fix the past.

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus



Penelope got her name of Pipi after an unfortunate accident involving a stuck zipper. Something horrible seems to happen every year, and Pipi knows all of the incidents by heart. Her friend Tasha puts up with her recounting, but doesn't quite understand, because her life seems to go swimmingly. When 8th grade starts off with an assembly where kindergarten pictures of the 8th graders are shown, Pipi feels like she has already had her humiliation for the year-- her picture was one of her as a piece of bacon. Bound and determined to avenge all of her past, she volunteers with the kindergarten class and mentors Piper, who thinks that she is going to be a unicorn when she grows up and wants to include a horn growing out of her stomach in her class portrait. That's one horror down, but Pipi goes through her past, focusing on Sarah, the golden girl everyone loves, and her evil cousin Kara, who were both behind some of the upsets. There's also Jackson, on whom Pipi has a long time crush, and with whom Pipi thinks she still has a chance, especially since she manufactures chances to be near him, especially since he has started to write poetry and Pipi offers up a room at her mother's gym as a place for a poetry group to meet. At home, Pipi has to deal with her sister Eliza, who had a baby at age 16, Annie, and is struggling to raise her daughter and to make her career as a make up consultant work. After part of her revenge scheme goes really well (or really awfully), she teams up with her target, Kara, to get revenge on Frau Jacobs, who is concentrating on dress coding all the girls in the school because they are "distracting" the boys, who are only expected to be "neat and clean" in their appearance. When Piper finds out some information about Frau Jacobs' own past, she feels bad about exacting her revenge, but is it too late to stop?
Strengths: This had a lot of good friend drama in it, and lots of interesting characters. Tasha's obsession with a book series (Crow Reaper) is fun, and the relationships with Ricky and Jackson are all too true-to-life. Her supportive family adds an extra layer of interest without slowly down the plot. The scenes with Piper are amusing. Doesn't every middle school student think about plans for a new school year and worry about the things that went wrong in the past?
Weaknesses: I would have liked this better if it had ended before the Frau Jacobs scheme; that was uncomfortable, and I found it hard to believe that any school would continue to dress code girls after everything that has been on social media.
What I really think: Better than Pack of Dorks but not as good as Bringing Me Back or Caleb and Kit. I'll definitely purchase for my readers who want books with drama.

There were lots of things I think this book did very well. It really came down to personal preference for me. Mean girls stories are important, but I don't enjoy a book where it runs throughout the whole story, and we really don't see a shift in the character's behavior. It's totally believable and real, but prefer a story where the antagonist's behavior changes. I've loved the author's books, and think this will definitely appeal to the right reader.

As an adult who carries quite a few scars from middle school, this book really hit home. I have many students who will feel the same way. This book will be very important and helpful in my classroom.

A book that fits for middle graders and up, The Humiliation of Pipi McGee is a hilarious, cringey, and heart-warming read. It’s a story about Pipi who had her almost-whole grade & middles school life a laughing stock all because of the school incidents that her batch mates can’t seem to forgot. Thanks to the usual mean person of everyones school.

It’s a fun read with lessons that you’ll get even of you’re just a kid. Let’s be real, we make mistakes — lots of it, we can be weird most of the time, but it doesn’t mean that it’s our “branding” forever. It is up to us how can we make most out of it, be it a negative or positive. And never ever take ~the wheel~ out of karma’s grasp. It will do you no good.

<i>Thank you for the free e-copy provided by Perseus Books, Running Press via NetGalley.</i>

Completely relatable for my 12 year old daughter! Poor Pippi is just trying to reinvent herself but every plan she comes up with basically blows up in her face. Along the way she discovers what true friendships are and that being yourself is what’s most important. Very funny and an enjoyable read for the tween in your life!

Beth Vrabel has done it again!! If you're reading as an adult, stop, remind yourself of being 12 years old, and then continue. If you're already 12 or in middle school, you will connect with Pipi. Pipi McGee has faced various, major humiliations in her years at school so far and she's determined to seek revenge and/or redemption for each item on The List. As she works through The List she learns some valuable lessons about true friendship, the hurt others have faced, personal truth and the true cost of revenge. Topics run the gamut from teen pregnancy through coming out. I can't wait to share this book with my middle schoolers and hopefully some of their teachers.

OMG, Pippi McGee! She strikes me as similar to the boy in Diary of a Wimpy Kid--often making the wrong decisions that alienate her true friends and don't actually gain her any "popular" ones. A few times I felt frustrated that she didn't just stop to be honest with the adults in her life, but then again, I'm pretty far removed from my middle school years now and I doubt I would have question that back then! She is a bumbling everywoman that I think middle graders will definitely enjoy. I certainly did! Through all the adversity her spark and spirit show through and that is a great lesson in resilience for younger tweens.

The Humiliations of Pipi McGee by Beth Vrabel was a book that was legit an immersive read about the embarrassment of youth. Holy smokes, y'all. It was so intense (in a good way) about the feelings of how the embarrassing moments of our youth stick with and haunt us that I had to take a moment to just breathe. I again mean this in the best of ways, but goodness. Pipi is in eighth grade, and as she looks to high school, she wants to erase some of the moments from her past that she's been teased and humiliated by. She identifies one mortifying event from each school year, and she sets out to right the course of her existence. And y'all, again, some of these are intense, but what I appreciated is that this book talked about fear and humiliation in a real way. Specifically, the incident from her seventh grade year is one that needs to be in books more, and I appreciated that the author gave space to it in this one. As Pipi tries to fix things through others, she often digs deeper holes and creates bigger problems. She realizes that the quest she is on is not one that is going to be easy, but she's determined to overcome. Pipi was an incredibly relatable heroine, as she was written so authentically. I loved that this book was so, so real in that regard. I think this is a middle grade novel that kids (and honestly, adults like me who've been there too) will really connect with this tale. The want to fit in is so strong, and we all have those days like Pipi has that we wish we could erase - even all these years later. This one hit me emotionally more than I ever saw coming, and I really, really dug it. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look of this September release.

Hello Again!

Before we jump into this review I wanted to say I finished reading this book over the summer and wrote this review shortly after finishing reading the book. However, I decided to wait till much closer to the pub date to put my review up on my site (I did put my review on Goodreads once I finished as I wanted to mark the book as complete and have my thoughts and notes someplace). I do not usually read a lot of middle grade but one day I was on Netgalley doing some requests and looking at some upcoming releases and something about this one just screamed to me. So I dove headfirst into reading about Pipi and I do not regret it at all because I loved Pipi's story so much.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Pipi McGee is just starting her last year of middle school however, every school year before has brought some humiliation that Pipi has never been able to live down. This year, however, Pipi is determined for things to be different. She is going to make people call her Penelope instead of Pipi which they all changed to PeePee due to an unfortunate issue in another school year. She is also going to get rid of the PeePee touch (think like kooties but made just for one person) and get revenge or right all of the wrongs that have happened to her in the past years. Pipi begins to devise a plan with her best friend Tasha to get her life back on track, with the biggest obstacles being getting back at Kara, Sarah, and Frau Jacobs for what the part they played in her past humiliations. However, as Pipi works on these past humiliations she learns that some people may be worse than others even without motivation. She also learns that "hurt people hurt people" and that you can make a choice to change things for yourself and others.

I enjoyed Pipi's story so much, it honestly made me think back to my days in middle and elementary school and further than that it made me think about my students and the things they experience in the classroom or lunch room or things we may not see as teachers or adults. One big thing I did not mention in my summary was a large choice Pipi has to make when she gets put into a situation where her decision has the power to affect her sister and niece or choose revenge for herself. This was very interesting to watch play out for Pipi and I honestly did not expect things to go the way they did. I definitely recommend reading this book when it comes out in Septemeber! I am giving in 4.5 stars on Goodreads.


**I was given this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eighth grade is the year that Pipi McGee has chosen to reinvent herself, and makeup for all of the past humiliations she has suffered since Kindergarten. After compiling a list, she sets out to right all of the wrongs, however at what cost? In the midst of remembering all of the past humiliations she has suffered, she forgets who has been there for her through all of the embarrassments.
The Humiliations of Pipi McGee brings to light the impact of bullying and how it affects everyone involved. The book also deals with the concept of being happy with yourself, and embracing your inner "weirdo".


I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.