Plot Summary
The book centers on Sheila Tubman, the greatly-contempted rival of Peter Hatcher from past books, who masks her deep cowardice and countless phobias with a much more self-assured, confident personality; however, in truth she suffers from fears ranging from arachnophobia, dogs, and water. Her family decides to spend the summertime in Tarrytown, where she is enrolled at a day camp and meets Merle "Mouse" Ellis, an easygoing, courageous, and slightly tomboyish girl skilled with her unlimited knowledge of yo-yo tricks. To Sheila's dismay, the family that owns the house in which the Tubmans are staying owns a dog named Jennifer who she deeply fears and avoids, and her troubles increase when the Tubmans learn of Jennifer's pregnancy and the desires of Sheila's sister Libby to adopt one of the puppies. Aside from these factors, Sheila is enlisted in swimming lessons (to her chagrin) and partakes at the camp newspaper staff (ending with resignation after having forgotten to devise a reward for the winners of her camp crossword puzzle), even painting the backdrop of the camp's production of 'Peter Pan' (in which Libby performs as Captain Hook, to her misery). Albeit Sheila believes that her fearless masquerade is effective, her beliefs are proven false after the guests at her sleepover party write otherwise in a Slam Book activity. Despite the brawl that ensues between the agitated girls, devastated by the insults written in each others' books, their friendship nonetheless continues, and Sheila slowly overcomes her fears (albeit not thoroughly) little by little. As the summer draws to a close with a barbecue party, she is unshaken at the thought of her family's adoption of a puppy, and realizes that she enjoyed her vacation after all.
Read more about this topic: Otherwise Known As Sheila The Great
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