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droar's review against another edition
4.0
A charmingly quick MG read about running away to live in an amusement park. I liked the characters & the base story (it moved way too fast, but that's MG books) a lot but for a realistic fiction there was an awful lot of suspension of disbelief required. That said its a good read with an excellent gimmick, lots of adventure, & just the right amount of heart.
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
4.0
This question may hit a little too close to home right now. Have you ever wanted to leave the problems in your life and get away to a magical place? A place that has wonderful memories? A place where you can escape the realities of life and maybe not worry about growing up just yet?
That's what Margaret does in this story. Something is going on at home and she wants to escape, go to a place that only holds happy memories. For her, that's the theme park Foreverland (with some definite connections and feels of Disney parks, but on a smaller scale). While Margaret has always been a shy kid, she has to face some fears and figure things out on her own, but it's not too long and she meets another runaway kid, Jamie. The two kids get to know each other and help each other out, all while trying to stay hidden from the head of security, the Captain!
Middle grade readers will relate to the main characters and appreciate the storyline of running away and escaping life's problems. And while growing up can be hard, it's with the support of friends that help us get through.
I really enjoyed the way acrostic poems wove through the storyline!
That's what Margaret does in this story. Something is going on at home and she wants to escape, go to a place that only holds happy memories. For her, that's the theme park Foreverland (with some definite connections and feels of Disney parks, but on a smaller scale). While Margaret has always been a shy kid, she has to face some fears and figure things out on her own, but it's not too long and she meets another runaway kid, Jamie. The two kids get to know each other and help each other out, all while trying to stay hidden from the head of security, the Captain!
Middle grade readers will relate to the main characters and appreciate the storyline of running away and escaping life's problems. And while growing up can be hard, it's with the support of friends that help us get through.
I really enjoyed the way acrostic poems wove through the storyline!
meredithmc's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of kids will enjoy Margaret's adventurous trip to Foreverland. The setting is perfect for the story and you can visualize the park itself, down to the not so great elements. I do wish there had been more background on Margaret's home life - I felt like I was piecing it together as the story went along, which I imagine was the intention but a less attentive reader may breeze through her reasons why she escaped to Foreverland. I enjoyed the ending; keeping everything set within the park solidified why this is a book about escaping to an amusement park and that the park itself is a character. The acrostics were a nice touch too.
jbrooxd's review against another edition
I enjoyed the first few chapters, but I wasn't in a space to finish. Might try again another time.
heatherdmoore's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Read aloud with my 14 year old. This was especially fun because we’re having a kids book club day at Dollywood to discuss this book, so it’ll be fun to imagine living in the amusement park and choosing where we’d want to sleep and what we’d want to do after hours. Had we not had this plan, I’m not sure that we’d have liked this book as much, but this definitely will level up our trip to Dollywood.
bookworm_baggins's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to the publisher for a free review copy.
I flew through this book in just a few hours. Margaret runs away from home to live in Foreverland, a favorite amusement park. The first person narration was real and relatable, and the amusement park setting was original and fun. Foreverland is a loose re-imagining of Peter Pan, and I loved all the fun nods to that story, especially tackling the hard parts of growing up and life in a family.
I flew through this book in just a few hours. Margaret runs away from home to live in Foreverland, a favorite amusement park. The first person narration was real and relatable, and the amusement park setting was original and fun. Foreverland is a loose re-imagining of Peter Pan, and I loved all the fun nods to that story, especially tackling the hard parts of growing up and life in a family.
tamarayork's review against another edition
4.0
The perfect read aloud before our homeschool book club goes to Dollywood. Margaret runs away to an amusement park amidst her parents divorce and meets the streetwise (parkwise?) Jaime who has been there for awhile. They form a friendship, adventure through the park, work through their problems, and grow as people. It made tor a great read aloud, good plot pacing, witty writing, and lots of acrostic poems thrown in. What kid doesn’t want to think about what it would be like to live inside an amusement park?!
sdertinger's review against another edition
4.0
Margaret's life has been flipped upside down. Her best friend is becoming so distant. Her family is falling apart. She doesn't know how to handle this situation, other than running away.
She does just that. The place she runs away to? Foreverland Amusement Park. Where anyone and everyone can have a magical day. She packed enough money and things she needs in her backpack to allow her to stay for awhile, if needed. As she gets the courage to head into her favorite amusement park, she is overwhelmed as time passes on how exactly she is going to find a place to hide? As she thinks this she keeps seeing the same boy over and over throughout the park. It's like he knows her but she has NO idea who he is. Finally, she meets him, Jamie, face-to-face after a lovely hotdog choking incident and he is a runaway too. He teaches Margaret about the ins and outs of the amusement park, where the security will be at certain times of the day, and how to survive in this magical amusement park.
She overcomes many fears like sleeping in a Haunted House and running away from some "bad guys". As she realizes that running away from home wasn't the best idea, she gets homesick. But Jamie is mysterious and she needs to know more about him. They both have secrets that they need to unfold. When will Margaret go home? Will they ever be a family again?
What is different about this runaway book is that the main setting was of the runaway destination. In this case, an amusement park (which is quite funny to me). As she is having a great time adventuring through her favorite place to be, she meets another runaway boy. It was intriguing to learn more about this mysterious kid. I ended up having a real soft spot for him and I just wanted to learn more just like Margaret did. The ending where he wrote the acrostic poem for Margaret was really touching for me. I think this book will be great for students to connect with - escaping life's problems and family issues. I also enjoyed the acrostic poems that were embedded throughout the story!
She does just that. The place she runs away to? Foreverland Amusement Park. Where anyone and everyone can have a magical day. She packed enough money and things she needs in her backpack to allow her to stay for awhile, if needed. As she gets the courage to head into her favorite amusement park, she is overwhelmed as time passes on how exactly she is going to find a place to hide? As she thinks this she keeps seeing the same boy over and over throughout the park. It's like he knows her but she has NO idea who he is. Finally, she meets him, Jamie, face-to-face after a lovely hotdog choking incident and he is a runaway too. He teaches Margaret about the ins and outs of the amusement park, where the security will be at certain times of the day, and how to survive in this magical amusement park.
She overcomes many fears like sleeping in a Haunted House and running away from some "bad guys". As she realizes that running away from home wasn't the best idea, she gets homesick. But Jamie is mysterious and she needs to know more about him. They both have secrets that they need to unfold. When will Margaret go home? Will they ever be a family again?
What is different about this runaway book is that the main setting was of the runaway destination. In this case, an amusement park (which is quite funny to me). As she is having a great time adventuring through her favorite place to be, she meets another runaway boy. It was intriguing to learn more about this mysterious kid. I ended up having a real soft spot for him and I just wanted to learn more just like Margaret did. The ending where he wrote the acrostic poem for Margaret was really touching for me. I think this book will be great for students to connect with - escaping life's problems and family issues. I also enjoyed the acrostic poems that were embedded throughout the story!
leigh_ann_15_deaf's review against another edition
4.0
A cute story about two children avoiding getting caught in an amusement park. Jaime isn't too likeable of a character for me, but I enjoyed it.