You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Even though I initially thought to read The 11:11 Wish for work, this ended up being in my Overall Top 10 Reads of 2017!
The 11:11 Wish is a fast-paced, STEM-positive, cat-inclusive novel with so much charm and wit that I am over-the-"mew-n" in love with it! After moving to a new town, Megan has to adjust to starting at a new school. And, she happens to do so at the beginning of one of the most important weeks at her new school, Spirit Captain Election Week! On her first day, Megan is dared to do "something exciting" by the end of the day, but all she wants to do it fit in and make new friends. With the help of a magical cat clock with a wicked sense of humor, Megan discovers that getting people to like you involves much more than physical attributes and what you can do to benefit them; the most significant thing to building a friendship may be honesty and staying true to yourself.
There are so many AMAZING aspects to this book. Here are just a few:
-SO MUCH STEM!!! Megan immediately wants to join Math Club, where she is not the only girl! I would argue that some of the math that she discusses may be a little too advanced for Junior High School, but otherwise, it is beautifully integrated throughout the book in a magnificent way. Especially when Megan uses famous equations, but with her own, not-so-scientific, variables (ex. inserting cat for c in E=mc^2). Piggybacking on this, I loved how Megan reassures herself that she can take risks by comparing them to statistical facts. Kim Tomsic definitely shows how much Megan loves math instead of just telling the reader that she loves math.
-The "romance" in this book is absolutely adorable! It is the perfect representation of what a first relationship should be for kids in Junior High School, something innocent and built on friendship.
-Kim shows that not standing up for someone who is being bullied is still a form of bullying and is harmful to both the observer and the victim.
-Many of the jokes and facts used throughout the book are explained for the readers that may not immediately understand them. However, it is done in such a way that does not make the reader feel stupid, nor does it jilt the flow of prose.
-Megan learns that it is okay for your friends to make other friends. This is not something to feel intimidated by.
-There is no cursing, which makes this a guilt-free book for me to recommend to young readers! Kim has one of the characters "curse" with various produce items, showing kids that if you have to let out a negative emotion though language, you can do so with other words. I also laughed quite a bit because of some of the creatively genius produce combinations this character uses.
-Megan discovers that you can have a fantastic get-together, or in her case, pep rally, without spending almost any money. You can stick with a simple plan and minimal props and still have a really great time with others. Just because other people may be able to afford extravagant things does not mean that they will have more fun.
-Megan learns that not everybody handles grief in the same way, and that is okay and perfectly normal.
Overall, Kim expresses the messages being of yourself and loving others in a wonderfully whimsical way! The 11:11 Wish will unquestionably be THE Middle Grade book that I will be recommending for the foreseeable future. Since I have a degree in mathematics and love cats, my love for this book might be somewhat biased. It was almost as if this book was written for me (something that the author also made a note of after seeing my Twitter profile). Nonetheless, this is a SPECTACULAR book that I think kids who love fun books with a little bit of magic in them will devour!
I was given an ARC of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.
The 11:11 Wish is a fast-paced, STEM-positive, cat-inclusive novel with so much charm and wit that I am over-the-"mew-n" in love with it! After moving to a new town, Megan has to adjust to starting at a new school. And, she happens to do so at the beginning of one of the most important weeks at her new school, Spirit Captain Election Week! On her first day, Megan is dared to do "something exciting" by the end of the day, but all she wants to do it fit in and make new friends. With the help of a magical cat clock with a wicked sense of humor, Megan discovers that getting people to like you involves much more than physical attributes and what you can do to benefit them; the most significant thing to building a friendship may be honesty and staying true to yourself.
There are so many AMAZING aspects to this book. Here are just a few:
-SO MUCH STEM!!! Megan immediately wants to join Math Club, where she is not the only girl! I would argue that some of the math that she discusses may be a little too advanced for Junior High School, but otherwise, it is beautifully integrated throughout the book in a magnificent way. Especially when Megan uses famous equations, but with her own, not-so-scientific, variables (ex. inserting cat for c in E=mc^2). Piggybacking on this, I loved how Megan reassures herself that she can take risks by comparing them to statistical facts. Kim Tomsic definitely shows how much Megan loves math instead of just telling the reader that she loves math.
-The "romance" in this book is absolutely adorable! It is the perfect representation of what a first relationship should be for kids in Junior High School, something innocent and built on friendship.
-Kim shows that not standing up for someone who is being bullied is still a form of bullying and is harmful to both the observer and the victim.
-Many of the jokes and facts used throughout the book are explained for the readers that may not immediately understand them. However, it is done in such a way that does not make the reader feel stupid, nor does it jilt the flow of prose.
-Megan learns that it is okay for your friends to make other friends. This is not something to feel intimidated by.
-There is no cursing, which makes this a guilt-free book for me to recommend to young readers! Kim has one of the characters "curse" with various produce items, showing kids that if you have to let out a negative emotion though language, you can do so with other words. I also laughed quite a bit because of some of the creatively genius produce combinations this character uses.
-Megan discovers that you can have a fantastic get-together, or in her case, pep rally, without spending almost any money. You can stick with a simple plan and minimal props and still have a really great time with others. Just because other people may be able to afford extravagant things does not mean that they will have more fun.
-Megan learns that not everybody handles grief in the same way, and that is okay and perfectly normal.
Overall, Kim expresses the messages being of yourself and loving others in a wonderfully whimsical way! The 11:11 Wish will unquestionably be THE Middle Grade book that I will be recommending for the foreseeable future. Since I have a degree in mathematics and love cats, my love for this book might be somewhat biased. It was almost as if this book was written for me (something that the author also made a note of after seeing my Twitter profile). Nonetheless, this is a SPECTACULAR book that I think kids who love fun books with a little bit of magic in them will devour!
I was given an ARC of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.