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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I was provided with a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Kate Marino loves her unusual home, with the high ceilings and the beams that run across them, even with the dead flies that they keep finding in her parents room. She loves her backyard and the stream that runs through it by the forest in the back. She also loves a square of blacktop that she calls the tennis court, where she and her friends play and ride their scooters. Oh, and don't forget her dance classes and the dance troupe that they are finally starting up at her studio.
Then her parents tell her that they are moving.
That is not okay with Kate. So she devises a plan that will turn all potential buyers away from the house. Kate decides that she will do everything in her power to make they house reek. and for a while, she succeeds.
I finished this book in three days.
This was an easy read, but it still had substance to it, even with all the fun elements.
For example, there was a bit of friendship trouble that Kate was having with her best friend Stella. For one thing, they were developing separate interests. For another, Kate was hurt when Stella didn't seem to care that Kate, her best friend, was moving and hour away.
At first I really didn't like the rivalry between the two girls, particularly because Stella was making me angry. But as the book went on, their 'fight' and characters developed more, and it then interested me, and I really just wanted Kate to stop being friends with Stella, if I am perfectly honest.
Another part of this book that I liked was that the main character danced. I also dance. Of course, my dancing is of another type and is not competitive, but I still enjoyed it.
The dance troupe in the book was another cause for disharmony between the girls. Kate decided that she wanted to do the troupe, even through she was moving and shouldn't be able to. Stella, insisted that it was selfish of Kate to do that, because Kate would be moving and if she left then the entire class would have to re-choreograph the entire routine. During this part I could see things from both sides of the characters views. I agreed with Stella, who was being practical. However, I understood that Kate wanted to participate, and who thought she could hold of her move until after the competition.
In the beginning of the book, Kate and her parents don't understand each other and she seems to feel like they are distant. On top of this, Kate's mother is going through a difficult time and their family struggles terribly with their finances. I enjoyed seeing their relationship change throughout the story.
The last thing that I want to mention that I really like is the diorama element. The book is called 'My Life in Dioramas' for a reason. Throughout this entire story, Kate is putting all her happy memories of her family and life in her house, Big Red, into the form of dioramas. She makes her yard, and every room in the house, so that she could go back and look at them once she is gone and remember her old life. For the character, it was probably a very therapeutic exercise.
This book is meaningful and deals with real problems, but manages to be so in such a way that it makes you feel happy at the end and that ensures that you have fun reading the book.
It is appropriate for all ages and I would highly recommend it.
Enter my giveaway for the book!
https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e382fe262/
Kate Marino loves her unusual home, with the high ceilings and the beams that run across them, even with the dead flies that they keep finding in her parents room. She loves her backyard and the stream that runs through it by the forest in the back. She also loves a square of blacktop that she calls the tennis court, where she and her friends play and ride their scooters. Oh, and don't forget her dance classes and the dance troupe that they are finally starting up at her studio.
Then her parents tell her that they are moving.
That is not okay with Kate. So she devises a plan that will turn all potential buyers away from the house. Kate decides that she will do everything in her power to make they house reek. and for a while, she succeeds.
I finished this book in three days.
This was an easy read, but it still had substance to it, even with all the fun elements.
For example, there was a bit of friendship trouble that Kate was having with her best friend Stella. For one thing, they were developing separate interests. For another, Kate was hurt when Stella didn't seem to care that Kate, her best friend, was moving and hour away.
At first I really didn't like the rivalry between the two girls, particularly because Stella was making me angry. But as the book went on, their 'fight' and characters developed more, and it then interested me, and I really just wanted Kate to stop being friends with Stella, if I am perfectly honest.
Another part of this book that I liked was that the main character danced. I also dance. Of course, my dancing is of another type and is not competitive, but I still enjoyed it.
The dance troupe in the book was another cause for disharmony between the girls. Kate decided that she wanted to do the troupe, even through she was moving and shouldn't be able to. Stella, insisted that it was selfish of Kate to do that, because Kate would be moving and if she left then the entire class would have to re-choreograph the entire routine. During this part I could see things from both sides of the characters views. I agreed with Stella, who was being practical. However, I understood that Kate wanted to participate, and who thought she could hold of her move until after the competition.
In the beginning of the book, Kate and her parents don't understand each other and she seems to feel like they are distant. On top of this, Kate's mother is going through a difficult time and their family struggles terribly with their finances. I enjoyed seeing their relationship change throughout the story.
The last thing that I want to mention that I really like is the diorama element. The book is called 'My Life in Dioramas' for a reason. Throughout this entire story, Kate is putting all her happy memories of her family and life in her house, Big Red, into the form of dioramas. She makes her yard, and every room in the house, so that she could go back and look at them once she is gone and remember her old life. For the character, it was probably a very therapeutic exercise.
This book is meaningful and deals with real problems, but manages to be so in such a way that it makes you feel happy at the end and that ensures that you have fun reading the book.
It is appropriate for all ages and I would highly recommend it.
Enter my giveaway for the book!
https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e382fe262/
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
My Life in Dioramas by Tara Altebrando is a wonderful heart-warming MG story about change, friendship, and family told with humor and realism.
Kate has lived her entire life in Big Red, the old farmhouse her parents own. Now half way through her 7th grade year they tell her they are moving. Worse, they are moving in with her grandparents because they are in financial trouble. Kate has to leave her school, dance class, friends, and the only life she has ever known. But Kate isn't going down without a fight. She hatches a number of schemes to turn off potential buyers, everything from causing a terrible stench to having her teenage neighbor play loud music. As time goes on, Kate realizes that more might be at stake than just her house though, and as she begins to feel more desperate and lost she makes a series of dioramas illustrating her life in the home she loves.
Kate's voice is absolutely perfect for the story being told here. She is a wonderful combination of vulnerable, sarcastic, bossy, and lost. She is a typical middle schooler. The plans she comes up with to save her home border on brilliant and ridiculous. Even thought they clearly have little hope of working, she attacks them with all the enthusiasm of her dwindling childhood. The house is not the only change on Kate's horizon though. Her relationship with her best friend, Stella, is changing. Stella seems more and more interested in boys and popularity than the interests they used to share. Then there are the boys themselves. Kate doesn't want to be noticing them, but darn it if they are making themselves more noticeable.
Kate's parents are incredibly important to the story too. Kate learns a great deal about her parents through the course of the story. She is in that stage when a child is really discovering their parents have a much wider life extending beyond the life of the child. Kate's parents have made some foolish financial decision, and she is furious with them. At the same time, she can see that they are mourning these as well. And Kate's mom is suffering from depression. I really like the way this is dealt with. Kate only knows the bare minimum of what is going on, but it she overhears things and has uncomfortable conversations with her mother. I felt this was realistically dealt with and is a situation many readers will be able to identify with.
My Life in Dioramas is a great pick for MG readers who enjoy realistic fiction. It is a short read and wonderfully illustrated too.
I read ARC provided by the publisher, Running Press Kids, via the mail. My Life in Dioramas is on sale April 28th.
My Life in Dioramas by Tara Altebrando is a wonderful heart-warming MG story about change, friendship, and family told with humor and realism.
Kate has lived her entire life in Big Red, the old farmhouse her parents own. Now half way through her 7th grade year they tell her they are moving. Worse, they are moving in with her grandparents because they are in financial trouble. Kate has to leave her school, dance class, friends, and the only life she has ever known. But Kate isn't going down without a fight. She hatches a number of schemes to turn off potential buyers, everything from causing a terrible stench to having her teenage neighbor play loud music. As time goes on, Kate realizes that more might be at stake than just her house though, and as she begins to feel more desperate and lost she makes a series of dioramas illustrating her life in the home she loves.
Kate's voice is absolutely perfect for the story being told here. She is a wonderful combination of vulnerable, sarcastic, bossy, and lost. She is a typical middle schooler. The plans she comes up with to save her home border on brilliant and ridiculous. Even thought they clearly have little hope of working, she attacks them with all the enthusiasm of her dwindling childhood. The house is not the only change on Kate's horizon though. Her relationship with her best friend, Stella, is changing. Stella seems more and more interested in boys and popularity than the interests they used to share. Then there are the boys themselves. Kate doesn't want to be noticing them, but darn it if they are making themselves more noticeable.
Kate's parents are incredibly important to the story too. Kate learns a great deal about her parents through the course of the story. She is in that stage when a child is really discovering their parents have a much wider life extending beyond the life of the child. Kate's parents have made some foolish financial decision, and she is furious with them. At the same time, she can see that they are mourning these as well. And Kate's mom is suffering from depression. I really like the way this is dealt with. Kate only knows the bare minimum of what is going on, but it she overhears things and has uncomfortable conversations with her mother. I felt this was realistically dealt with and is a situation many readers will be able to identify with.
My Life in Dioramas is a great pick for MG readers who enjoy realistic fiction. It is a short read and wonderfully illustrated too.
I read ARC provided by the publisher, Running Press Kids, via the mail. My Life in Dioramas is on sale April 28th.
Kate can't believe it when she finds out her parents are going to sell the only house she has ever known "Big Red". What about her best friends Stella and Naveen? What about dance? Kate does the only thing she can think of - sabotage. She makes the house smell and setsup load noisesduring the Open Houses but she gets caught. How can Kate handle this crisis?
So, much of this book is typical middle school crisis - changes in best friend statuses, issues with starting to like boys, mean girls. The sabatage on the house showing was fun and the dioramas were also interesting. This is a solid read.
So, much of this book is typical middle school crisis - changes in best friend statuses, issues with starting to like boys, mean girls. The sabatage on the house showing was fun and the dioramas were also interesting. This is a solid read.
This book was fine. I like the concept - the idea of a girl saying goodbye to the house she's known all her life by making dioramas of each room is a poignant and sweet one. Kate's also dealing with her mom's depression and her parents' sense of failure in losing the house that they also loved so much. But it felt like a couple of different books jammed into one in a way that didn't quite work for me. There's the madcap plot of Kate trying to find ways to stink up her house, the poignant story of a girl dealing with losing her home and her parents' sense of failure, and then the end kind of started reading like real estate listings, which I feel like is not going to really interest kids too much.
I mean, it was fine. But (to me) that's all.
I mean, it was fine. But (to me) that's all.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kate Marino, 12, truly loves living in her rambling red farmhouse, affectionately known by everyone in her small Hudson Valley town as Big Red. But when her parents tell her that they are forced to sell Big Red because of money problems, Kate has a hard time accepting this stinging blow.
So, without doing her homework, a diorama about a scene from life, Kate goes to bed, clothes and all. Next day, when her teacher asks for her diorama, she promises to make two to make up for being unprepared. What Kate really needs, though, is a plan to thwart any potential buyers and best friend Naveen is there to help. He suggests that she make the house smell badly and to do that they collect some recently made cow pies. And it works for the first open house. But soon the realtor is on to her.
Meanwhile, Kate's dancing teacher announces that her dance class will be particpating in a dance competition in Albany at the end of the school year. It's a problem for Kate, who may be gone by then, but who refuses to say anything to the teacher, even when her other best friend Stella urges her to. In fact, sabotaging the sale of Big Red just becomes even more imperative, at least until after the dance competition. Stella, who is well off, also wants to enter the indivudual dance competition as well and can afford hire a teacher and chorographer to help her. Luckily, Kate, who would be real competition for Stella, has no interest in doing that. Kate and Stella are growing apart anyway, as Stella's attentions turn to boys and Kate isn't interested in them yet.
While all this is happening, Kate finds herself making dioramas of each of the rooms in Big Red, each one depicting a meaningful memory for her that happened there. The dioramas help Kate deal with leaving the only home she has ever known and stepping into rootlessness with her parents who don't seem to know where they will go or what they will do and aren't particularly worried about it. Kate's parents work freelance, so they able to accept that kind of insecurity. In fact, sometimes they seem totally disconnected with reality, including Kate's love of dance and her strong desire to be in the competition. And to make matters worse, her mother seems to be suffering from clincial depression.
When the house is finally sold, Kate discovers she must say goodbye to more than Big Red as she steps into the unknown. On the day the family moves, the old family dog Angus dies. It was like the dog was letting Kate know it is time to make a fresh start. But will she be able to?
This was an interesting coming of age story. Kate is a convincing 12 year old, although I think the first sabotage using the fresh cow pies went on a little too long for my taste (but kids probably won't be too bothered by that). I know that lots of kids must deal with a seriously depressed parent, and it was refreshing to see that this wasn't just treated as an unimportant aside or plot device to move the story along.
Change is never easy, but as Kate learns, it can open new doors and that is the message of this novel. But don't get me wrong, there is plenty of humor in in My Life in Dioramas, and Naveen is one of my favorite characters. But, for me, the best part is that it reminds us that sometimes people really do hear you and pay attention and then they do something.
Oh, yes, and I loved the setting. I used to go to camp every year in the Hudson Valley so I know how really beautiful that area is. But I did not like the cover - it's just too dark and you can barely make out Big Red.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
So, without doing her homework, a diorama about a scene from life, Kate goes to bed, clothes and all. Next day, when her teacher asks for her diorama, she promises to make two to make up for being unprepared. What Kate really needs, though, is a plan to thwart any potential buyers and best friend Naveen is there to help. He suggests that she make the house smell badly and to do that they collect some recently made cow pies. And it works for the first open house. But soon the realtor is on to her.
Meanwhile, Kate's dancing teacher announces that her dance class will be particpating in a dance competition in Albany at the end of the school year. It's a problem for Kate, who may be gone by then, but who refuses to say anything to the teacher, even when her other best friend Stella urges her to. In fact, sabotaging the sale of Big Red just becomes even more imperative, at least until after the dance competition. Stella, who is well off, also wants to enter the indivudual dance competition as well and can afford hire a teacher and chorographer to help her. Luckily, Kate, who would be real competition for Stella, has no interest in doing that. Kate and Stella are growing apart anyway, as Stella's attentions turn to boys and Kate isn't interested in them yet.
While all this is happening, Kate finds herself making dioramas of each of the rooms in Big Red, each one depicting a meaningful memory for her that happened there. The dioramas help Kate deal with leaving the only home she has ever known and stepping into rootlessness with her parents who don't seem to know where they will go or what they will do and aren't particularly worried about it. Kate's parents work freelance, so they able to accept that kind of insecurity. In fact, sometimes they seem totally disconnected with reality, including Kate's love of dance and her strong desire to be in the competition. And to make matters worse, her mother seems to be suffering from clincial depression.
When the house is finally sold, Kate discovers she must say goodbye to more than Big Red as she steps into the unknown. On the day the family moves, the old family dog Angus dies. It was like the dog was letting Kate know it is time to make a fresh start. But will she be able to?
This was an interesting coming of age story. Kate is a convincing 12 year old, although I think the first sabotage using the fresh cow pies went on a little too long for my taste (but kids probably won't be too bothered by that). I know that lots of kids must deal with a seriously depressed parent, and it was refreshing to see that this wasn't just treated as an unimportant aside or plot device to move the story along.
Change is never easy, but as Kate learns, it can open new doors and that is the message of this novel. But don't get me wrong, there is plenty of humor in in My Life in Dioramas, and Naveen is one of my favorite characters. But, for me, the best part is that it reminds us that sometimes people really do hear you and pay attention and then they do something.
Oh, yes, and I loved the setting. I used to go to camp every year in the Hudson Valley so I know how really beautiful that area is. But I did not like the cover - it's just too dark and you can barely make out Big Red.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
My Life in Dioramas by Tara Altebrando is about learning to cope with unwanted change. Kate Marino loves living in Big Red, her family's converted barn house but the downturn in the economy has knocked too many holes in the family budget and they have to sell the place in order to downsize.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comments_04/my_life_in_dioramas.html
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comments_04/my_life_in_dioramas.html
Great tie ins for teachers with the diorama theme, and a lot of good handling of hard topics like depression and change and moving, especially due to hardship. Not a sob story, which I appreciated.