lindseycrouch 's review for:

Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris, Shelly Brown

3.5

inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I read this for book club--otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up on my own. I kind of hate the kid-with-cancer trope in books and when it's based on a true story it kind of feels a little exploitive. I feel weird about people getting internet famous for being sick or injured. Anyway, one of the reviews called this book "unsentimental" and I'd agree. The brain tumor is a huge part of the story and yet it really doesn't get sappy often, which I did appreciate. If I had to pick a word to describe it, I'd say it's goofy. The 12 year old humor was pretty over the top and I wasn't a fan. I can see 12 year olds loving the crap out of this book, though, and I love that for them. The mark of a great middle grade book is that it can be loved by someone outside the target audience, and this is not it. I did like that the moral of the story was more than just "you can survive hard things" and that was a pleasant surprise. All this to say is I didn't like it and knew going into it I probably wouldn't like it, but it's not a terrible book.