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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
How utterly charming is Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick? Maybe I loved it so much because it has so many of my favorite things: a big family with great kids in a small town running a book store and a cast of colorful townspeople. It was delightful! The focus is on Truly Lovejoy as she and her family adapt to small town New Hampshire as her father (a wounded military vet) is called back by his parents to rescue their generations old book store. Moving back is not only helping to save the book store, but it's also helping mend their once happy, but now silent father. The mystery was simple, but sweet. I'm hoping since she called it a Pumpkin Falls mystery that perhaps there will be more of these books.
A lovely middle grade novel, set in the quiet, but not boring, small town of Pumpkin Falls. At nearly 6 feet tall, 6th grader Truly Lovejoy stands out in her new town. But soon a mysterious letter starts her out on an adventure. A charming story about making new friends, becoming part of a community, and finding your place.
A nice break from adult fiction, but a bit too forced.
This was a fun children's book. It was an easy read, and it was very entertaining.
This is a sweet story with a good mystery, fun characters, and poignant insights into the life of a tween admist physical and emotional upheaval. Truly Lovejoy is the middle child in a large miliatary family. Her family is getting ready to settle down after her dad's retirement in Texas when an injury during his last tour of duty in Afghanistan costs him his post-Army job as a college wrestling coach. Truly's family is uprooted again to her dad's hometown of Pumpkin Falls, NH to save her grandparent's failing bookstore. A little mystery concerning Charlotte's Web, Shakespeare and the town's cast of characters ensues. Technically, this book is a mystery but Truly is in the middle of so much turmoil that it can't help but be a coming-of-age story as well. Though Frederick deals with her father's injuries in a direct manner, she's so skillful at creating a tween narrator in Truly that readers only see things from Truly's perspective as each Lovejoy readjusts to life in the civilian world.
Truly's character is a delight and a rarity in the middle grade/YA world. She's awkward and funny enough to be believable as a tween but she's not outrageous! Her parents don't allow her to sasss them back and the adults in her life have reasonable and firm expectations of her without being overly moralistic. Not a common occurance for most literary representations of family for this age group. The plot moves along nicely and the author has said this will be the start of a new series! Yay!
Truly's character is a delight and a rarity in the middle grade/YA world. She's awkward and funny enough to be believable as a tween but she's not outrageous! Her parents don't allow her to sasss them back and the adults in her life have reasonable and firm expectations of her without being overly moralistic. Not a common occurance for most literary representations of family for this age group. The plot moves along nicely and the author has said this will be the start of a new series! Yay!
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a really sweet and fun middle grade mystery. I would have liked a little more stakes in the mystery, which in my opinion was the weakest part, but the characters and the story of Truly adapting to her new life were really good. There were occasional cringey moments in the writing - the "truly" puns got out of hand, and I never want to see the phrase "toot soup again" - but it wasn't distracting. I'm charmed enough by the Lovejoy family and Pumpkin Falls that I will pick up the next book if I see it around.
I tried to listen to the audiobook version and it was just not doing it for me so it took me awhile to get into the book. I ended up really enjoying it though. The main character and her friends are very sweet and I really liked the overall plot and character development. I didn’t realize until I finished the book that it is by the same person who wrote the Mother Daughter Bookclub Books which in retrospect made a lot of sense.
Had some slower parts, but overall an enjoyable middle grade read. I will likely pick up others in the series.
Absolutely Truly is a children’s mystery book about a family that moves to small town to take over their grandparents’ bookstore when the father gets injured at war. A mystery note is found in a book in the store and Truly decides to uncover the true meaning behind the letter.
This story has three things that I love: a bookstore, a mystery, and a small town. And pumpkins! So make that four things. I seriously considered opening up my own bookstore and moving to a small town after reading this book. It just sounds so quaint and peaceful. I love how modern this book is. It just came out in 2014, but it seems really relevant to current pop culture (i.e. video chat, cell phones, and Michael Phelps). My only concern is how quickly this book will become outdated. Technology and pop culture changes so quickly, that within a few years this book may, in fact, be irrelevant.
I also love how this book teaches children new words and references by clearly defining or explaining them. This is a great way to scaffold children’s learning by using their prior schema along with explanations (sorry my education background is coming out…hehe).
Read the rest of my review here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.blogspot.com/2015/06/absolutely-truly-heather-vogel-frederick.html
This story has three things that I love: a bookstore, a mystery, and a small town. And pumpkins! So make that four things. I seriously considered opening up my own bookstore and moving to a small town after reading this book. It just sounds so quaint and peaceful. I love how modern this book is. It just came out in 2014, but it seems really relevant to current pop culture (i.e. video chat, cell phones, and Michael Phelps). My only concern is how quickly this book will become outdated. Technology and pop culture changes so quickly, that within a few years this book may, in fact, be irrelevant.
I also love how this book teaches children new words and references by clearly defining or explaining them. This is a great way to scaffold children’s learning by using their prior schema along with explanations (sorry my education background is coming out…hehe).
Read the rest of my review here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.blogspot.com/2015/06/absolutely-truly-heather-vogel-frederick.html