Best Foot Forward Paperback – October 5, 2006

One person can make a difference. That's the big lesson Jenna Boller learns outside of the classroom and it changes her forever. As she returns to school in the Fall, she immediately realizes how much she has matured over the summer. It's as if the other students were frozen in time. Jenna grew up at Gladstone Shoes. At first, she is consumed in her own problems, most notably fixing the strained relationship with a dysfunctional alcoholic parent she helped put in jail. A sister obsessed with her own appearance is also scarred by family problems but refuses to deal with them. At work, Jenna's boss, an elderly women, Mrs. Gladstone, seems out of touch and too gullible, giving the wrong people, like the troubled Tanner, a second chance. As Jenna learns, it was all a matter of having the right person redirect Tanner's high energy in a more positive direction - and Mrs. Gladstone make Jenna his boss, partly responsible for the transformation. Mrs. Gladstone knows that in her heart Jenna does not understand her methods. Jenna believes Mrs. Gladstone is soft, an easy mark. As the story unfolds, Jenna observes as Mrs. Gladstone takes on her own son, exposing the corruption that has infested Gladstone's new corporate offices. As her mentor, Mrs. Gladstone explains, "I want you to learn from this. I want you to write it in your heart." In the end Jenna intuitively creates her own mentoring role, helping someone else put the best foot forward. Joan Bauer has written a most enjoyable, uplifting book that will not only resonate with young reasons, but with all who read it. It kept me smiling.

I grew up in an alcoholic dysfunctional home where I was sealed to secrecy, feeling alone, living in fear, powerless. This book would have given me hope, practical powerful tools in coping I could face each day with a focus on building one's own character and life, this Book had reality balanced with positive versus negative meshed with humor that encouraged my heart as I relived my teen years that were so dark due to alcohol.

I loved "Rules of the Road" and I was immediately struck by how much Jenna had matured in the interim between that book and this book. I love her employee/caretaker relationship with her boss Mrs. Gladstone, her ambivalent relationship with Tanner, and the spark of some romantic interest in Charlie Duran. Her involvement in Al-Anon added an interesting new dimension, and the struggle to save the shoe company (the "good guys" versus the "bad guys") was actually pretty exciting. Overall a good read!

In a time when there are so many books offering so many types of things, it is so refreshing to read a book about a teen looking for the best in people and striving to become her best self. Joan Bauer writes with her characteristic humor, but the book's resolution, at an Al-anon meeting, was more heartwarming than anything I've read in too long.

It was a pretty good book it really showed that you can change wrong into right. You just need to believe in yourself. Like the serenity prayer except the things that we cannot change and to change the things we can. I really liked this book it was very inspirering.

The author weaves many values into the story. I'm excited to read how our young athlete fares in running, but also the life lessons taught to him by very interesting characters.

We can all learn something of value about life from this delightful little book. He should sell the screen rights!

I love The bookDragon quest to be a girl who are not a woman who aren't very good at least one is eating a piece on suck it up