Alexandra Ingredient

Alexandra, 10, is always in troubleshe gets lost in the pages of Little Women while the house fills with smoke from a kitchen fire, forgets to study for tests, loses her homework and misplaces her glasses. But her best friend Bethie and an old man named Mike, part of an Adopt-a-Grandparent program, know that Alexandra is special in her own way, and the three of them work together to help her become more responsible. When Alexandra gets caught hiding a new kitten in the basement and Mike goes into the hospital, it seems as if her problems are insurmountable. But for once it is Alexandra's act-first, think-later attitude that not only helps Mike but also changes her mother's mind about the kitten. A first novel, this is a competently written story about a typicaland funnygirl who gets into somewhat unusual scrapes. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)