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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Audio Book Review: Voice artist was solid, nothing glaringly bad or amazing, but good.
Major kudos for dealing with the subject of how children deal with a parent who has lost a limb in such a subtle way. The book could have been heavy or preachy, but it was not. The main character was suitably confused by it all, but also aware of the changes in her father. I thought it was a nice background for the story.
I wouldn't really consider this a mystery at all, though. There was no real need to figure out the clues other than a desire to do so, so it all was very safe and consequence-less for a true mystery.
The young characters and their motivations were, for the most part, well written for this modern day Mayberry.
My main gripe was in the body shaming that built so much of this book. The main character is said to be a 14 year old, 6' tall girl. Wow. That is tall. And the author never lets us forget it because Truly is always reminding herself of how terribly tall she is and how big her feet are. And the bullies in the story are constantly making fun of her for being so gigantic. Realistic to some extent, for sure. But it just felt like I was being hit over the head with it - especially since the bully only apologized when (get this) Truly dressed up in a pretty dress. Let me say it again. He was mean to her over and over as a character trait, until she was "pretty" then he decided to be nice.
Ooooohkaaaay.... That just made me uncomfortable for all kinds of psychological reasons. "He only is mean to you because he likes you" is Rape Culture 101...
In addition to that, a male character is described as skinny and skeletal and his ribs are counted and he is a push over and his mom is overbearing, and he gets picked on, and did I mention how skinny he is? And he joins the swim team, ostensibly so we can all see (again) how many ribs poke out and how skinny he is...
I got almost as angry reading about this as I did about the other. It is another symptom of the same thing. Because this character is soft spoken and kind and skinny, he is less masculine than the others, and is never presented as anything other than a eunuch male presence until the presumed "love interest" enters the picture. (Although, there is little to no actual romance in this book, as the main character has not reached the stage of liking boys, and that is a relief.
This was a decent book, and if the author writes another, I would give it a shot, but the concerns I had were pretty major for me, and I knocked a whole star off of my rating for them.
Major kudos for dealing with the subject of how children deal with a parent who has lost a limb in such a subtle way. The book could have been heavy or preachy, but it was not. The main character was suitably confused by it all, but also aware of the changes in her father. I thought it was a nice background for the story.
I wouldn't really consider this a mystery at all, though. There was no real need to figure out the clues other than a desire to do so, so it all was very safe and consequence-less for a true mystery.
The young characters and their motivations were, for the most part, well written for this modern day Mayberry.
My main gripe was in the body shaming that built so much of this book. The main character is said to be a 14 year old, 6' tall girl. Wow. That is tall. And the author never lets us forget it because Truly is always reminding herself of how terribly tall she is and how big her feet are. And the bullies in the story are constantly making fun of her for being so gigantic. Realistic to some extent, for sure. But it just felt like I was being hit over the head with it - especially since the bully only apologized when (get this) Truly dressed up in a pretty dress. Let me say it again. He was mean to her over and over as a character trait, until she was "pretty" then he decided to be nice.
Ooooohkaaaay.... That just made me uncomfortable for all kinds of psychological reasons. "He only is mean to you because he likes you" is Rape Culture 101...
In addition to that, a male character is described as skinny and skeletal and his ribs are counted and he is a push over and his mom is overbearing, and he gets picked on, and did I mention how skinny he is? And he joins the swim team, ostensibly so we can all see (again) how many ribs poke out and how skinny he is...
I got almost as angry reading about this as I did about the other. It is another symptom of the same thing. Because this character is soft spoken and kind and skinny, he is less masculine than the others, and is never presented as anything other than a eunuch male presence until the presumed "love interest" enters the picture. (Although, there is little to no actual romance in this book, as the main character has not reached the stage of liking boys, and that is a relief.
This was a decent book, and if the author writes another, I would give it a shot, but the concerns I had were pretty major for me, and I knocked a whole star off of my rating for them.
Truly Lovejoy referred to her father by his full name (and title) 15 times and frankly, that was 15 times too many.
Now, normally, "group of middle schoolers solving a mystery" is one of my favorite genres. I hoped this would be one that I would love. Saving a bookstore, secret letters, small-town vibes, what could go wrong? Unfortunately, something about this just didn't click for me.
I'm never a fan of a middle-grade that feels like it's talking down to its audience, and that's kind of what this felt like. Truly spends a lot of internal monologue time explaining things (military terms, bird species, her family's quirks and inside jokes), the mystery falls flat at the end (if you can even call it a mystery), the townspeople and Truly's family feel like cardboard cutouts rather than people. I don't mind that Truly is self-conscious about her height (it's fair, we all feel awkward in 7th grade), but please PLEASE stop talking about it. The story keeps circling back to it like that's the root of all her problems and I'm so tired, lol.
Tired is how I felt at the end of this. Just... tired.
I will say that I did really enjoy the friend group that formed. Cha Cha, Jasmine, Lucas, (and even Calhoun) captured my heart pretty quickly, but I didn't love how Truly thought about her friends (like, please think kinder things about these kids who are happy to be your friend, girl, please)
3 stars. Not the worst thing I've ever read but definitely not the best.
Now, normally, "group of middle schoolers solving a mystery" is one of my favorite genres. I hoped this would be one that I would love. Saving a bookstore, secret letters, small-town vibes, what could go wrong? Unfortunately, something about this just didn't click for me.
I'm never a fan of a middle-grade that feels like it's talking down to its audience, and that's kind of what this felt like. Truly spends a lot of internal monologue time explaining things (military terms, bird species, her family's quirks and inside jokes), the mystery falls flat at the end (if you can even call it a mystery), the townspeople and Truly's family feel like cardboard cutouts rather than people. I don't mind that Truly is self-conscious about her height (it's fair, we all feel awkward in 7th grade), but please PLEASE stop talking about it. The story keeps circling back to it like that's the root of all her problems and I'm so tired, lol.
Tired is how I felt at the end of this. Just... tired.
I will say that I did really enjoy the friend group that formed. Cha Cha, Jasmine, Lucas, (and even Calhoun) captured my heart pretty quickly, but I didn't love how Truly thought about her friends (like, please think kinder things about these kids who are happy to be your friend, girl, please)
3 stars. Not the worst thing I've ever read but definitely not the best.
Geared for middle-grade readers, this story is a gentle mystery but really more of a school and family story. The heroine Truly must adjust to big changes in her family due to her father's arm amputation and subsequent cross-country move. The entire family grows together and supports one another through this traumatic time. A sweet story with relatable but likable young characters.
There was a lot to like about this book, and a few things to roll my eyes at. It is a Battle of the Books selection for middle school in my state, and as I've taken the plunge into organizing a group at my school, I'm trying to read the selections I haven't read yet.
Pros: I love the cover. I went to college in a small Vermont town, and the setting is as lovely as shown here. I like the relationship between siblings, in which there are some that are closer than others. I liked the dad's journey, from fun-loving to realistically morose to slowly finding his new normal. The friendships were great, the teachers were great and (she stiffly adds for the benefit of a few reviewers who complained) I LIKE birds.
Cons: As many have noted, calling this a mystery is not very accurate. It's also super hetero-normative. Finally, I am surprised this was chosen for a middle school read instead of upper elementary. The characters are middle schoolers, but very innocent and mild ones.
Pros: I love the cover. I went to college in a small Vermont town, and the setting is as lovely as shown here. I like the relationship between siblings, in which there are some that are closer than others. I liked the dad's journey, from fun-loving to realistically morose to slowly finding his new normal. The friendships were great, the teachers were great and (she stiffly adds for the benefit of a few reviewers who complained) I LIKE birds.
Cons: As many have noted, calling this a mystery is not very accurate. It's also super hetero-normative. Finally, I am surprised this was chosen for a middle school read instead of upper elementary. The characters are middle schoolers, but very innocent and mild ones.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
This book got off to a slow start for me, but once the plot started moving along, it was an enjoyable read. I loved the setting and descriptions of Pumpkin Falls. I also liked the family interaction. My daughter, who is 9, liked the humor and loved trying to help solve the mystery along with the characters.
All I wanted as a kid was to run a bookstore and solve mysteries
Listened to the audiobook for this one and ended up needing to really increase the speed to keep my attention. It wasn’t really a mystery and I found the small town life and family dynamics hard to believe much of the time. I really did enjoy the large family dynamics, so many books just feature families with 2 or 3 kids. But I’ve been spoiled by the Penderwicks and Vanderbeekers; when compared to those stories, this just felt flat for me.