bkmuse7 's review for:

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

4.0

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As usual, I appreciate Jennifer Holm's insights into life and the nature of being -- deep issues underlying this family/school/middle grade story. "Believe in the possible" is something Ellie's grandfather says often, and the reader will need to stretch their belief in one big way -- for Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered how to reverse the aging process. Now a hungry, surly teen who can no longer access his office at work, Melvin is stuck going to middle school with Ellie. Though many people dream of returning to their youth, few of us dream of returning to middle school. Spending time with her grandfather is funny, frustrating, and a learning experience. While Melvin doesn't get along very well with his daughter, it turns out he has more in common with his granddaughter. Ellie discovers the wonder of science from her grandfather, learns to believe in the possible, especially within herself. She also turns out to be even more mature that her grandfather when she comes to the realization that her grandfather's experiments come at a cost -- maybe being younger, trying to reverse time or not age, isn't always such a good idea. I like how Holm develops Ellie's character and learning so that she realizes this for herself. It's beautifully done -- not at all preachy or anything -- and the book retains a light, humorous tone even when talking about quite deep subjects.