School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 5-7-Twelve-year-old Molly and her best friend, Tanna, discover an antique machine that accurately predicts who you are going to marry. Tanna is ecstatic about her rich, British future husband, while Molly is less than thrilled to learn that hers is an obnoxious fifth grader she already knows, and is even more dismayed to learn that her father might marry Phyllis (aka the Claw). Both of these scenarios lead Molly to question whether the future is set, or whether the machine's predictions can be altered, and she sets about trying to change both her father's and her own readings. At the same time, she reluctantly agrees to charge her classmates for appointments with the Who-Meter (or Ewmitter, as it comes to be called). This brings about unforeseen complications that further trouble Molly: a girl with multiple future spouses, and a boy with no match at all. The internal struggles that Molly faces when she uses the Who-Meter are the highlight of this title.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Molly, 12, feels like a social loser, but after she finds a magic machine (she calls it the Who Meter) that tells people whom they are going to marry, the sixth-grade klutz is suddenly popular, and even the in-crowd is lining up to find out about their future mates. The truth isn't always attractive, though. The lunchroom queen finds out that she will marry seven times, and even Molly herself is paired with a silly outsider (or is he really quite nice?), and learns that they will have more than 700 kids. Worst of all, there is no way to break up the coming marriage of Molly's widower dad with the world's worst stepmother-to-be (named the Claw, her long red nails an apt metaphor for her sharpness). The fantasy elements are fun, especially because they never negate the contemporary realism in those elemental power struggles at schoolyard and at home.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2009 Booklist

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Two girls discover that divining the future is not all it's cracked up to be, in this flimsy tale set in the land of middle school. Banished to the basement during the after-school hours by her dreadful stepmother-to-be, Molly and her best friend stumble upon a bizarre machine that seems to predict the prospective spouse of each person whose name is entered into it. This at once gives the girls power over their sixth-grade peers and creates some ethical dilemmas. While the core of this fantastical story poses an interesting question about the nature of free will versus fate, its encapsulation in a formulaic melodrama does not provide much of an opportunity for the characters to explore it. Molly is likable enough, but she is often almost obscured by her many issues. Finally, the remarkably unfeasible ending and the frustrating lack of explanation as to why Molly is the only one who is able to make the "Who-Meter" work render the novel unsatisfying. (Fantasy. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Molly and her friend find a machine that can identify the name of anyone's past, present, or future spouse. News of the "Who-Meter" spreads throughout school; at the same time, Molly's father is planning his wedding to "the Claw." The story nails the relationship between Molly and her dad and also the funny, awkward interactions between sixth-grade boys and girls. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.