The Pistachio Prescription

The Pistachio Prescription by Paula Danziger

Published by: Puffin

Summary: The Pistachio Prescription, written by Paula Danzinger was an excellent and entertaining novel about a teenage girl dealing with the troubles of being one. Cassandra Stevens has brown hair, brown eyes, is very tall, and 14. She has two siblings, Stephie, the typical seventeen-year-old sister; she has blonde hair, blue eyes. She has a smaller green-eyed red haired brother. Her mom is identical to her brother, and Stephie is identical to her father. She wonders if she is even really part of the family. The story is about Cassie (short for Cassandra), as she is just about to enter high school. As is typical, there's a "cool" crowd, the student council people.But this year, Cassie has a plan. An intelligent,deviousplan. Her friends all got together for a meeting discussing what they'll do, whom they will elect, and who will lead. Guess who gets chosen? Cassie for president! She feels quite insecure and does not want to do it, but gets convinced afterwards. But life is not all fun and games for Cassie, and whenever she feels angry, mad or sad, she eats red pistachios, a prescription of them is sure to get her joy back in an instant, the only bad part is that her parent's don't like the idea of her eating them. Her mother says it's not ladylike, and her father agrees with her. Cassie has to hide her pistachios wherever she can. When Cassie enters school, there's a new kid in town, Scott. They start talking and he is part of the plan to too. This book talks about teamwork, teenage troubles, family, school, and friends.

Personal Review: I enjoyed the story very much. It was written in the mid 1970s, but is a story that kids today can still relate to. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to most any young adult.