The friend drama is a consistent to middle school interactions. This was a very mature thing for a teen to do. But it was very interesting how Brianna negotiated with her mother to come up with the additional funds. When she impulsively invites her new friends to her party, I thought it a bit insensitive for mom to go off on how they can’t afford to feed four more people. I thought the parental drama was realistic and not over the top. I enjoyed Libenson's comical illustrations and the hand lettered text made the story quite personal. As I read Brianna’s predicament I began to feel anxiety. Going back and forth in time from Brianna's preparations to the present day, we see her anxiety building as she deals with family, friends and her upcoming event. Zoe texts Brianna frequently, and makes an effort to talk to her and hang out, but the two don't really click, and Emmie feels that Zoe has heard rumors about the Bat Mitzvah party and just wants to be invited. She is also at odds with her best friend, Emmie, who is not only tired of hearing about the bat mitzvah, but also doubts that popular girl Zoe who has suddenly befriended Brianna has sincere motives. As many of us do with difficult things, she leaves the speech to the last minute. So now and in a rather short time she has to learn learn to speak Hebrew, write a speech and deliver it to an audience in Hebrew! That’s enough to make the most outgoing person tremble. Unselfishly Brianna understands that this is very important to her mother and agrees even though she has a lot of anxiety about being the center of attention. The family is not terribly religious (Brianna's father is not Jewish), and her parents can barely afford such a celebration. After being badgered by her mother, Brianna has finally and reluctantly, given in to her mother's desire for her to have a significant bat mitzvah celebration. Brianna is now dealing with her parents divorce. The setting is the same school and includes characters from previous books. This is not the first Brianna book but it can be read alone.

Becoming Brianna is a notebook novel about her experiences with an upcoming Bat Mitzvah.

Terri libenson becoming brianna