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A review by dtaylorbooks
Milla Takes Charge by Erin Soderberg Downing
4.0
I don’t usually read middle grade (or is this a chapter book? no, I think it’s middle grade), but when Disney pitched this to me for review it just sounded so cute and I didn’t want to pass it up. I knew it’d be a quick read so why not? It doesn’t hurt to get out of my comfort zone every once in a while.
This is book one in the Daring Dreamers Club series and I imagine each book is going to follow one of the girls in the group (based on the snippet at the end of this one, Piper’s up next). We start with Milla who’s front and center on the cover and she wants to go on the fifth grade overnight, but her moms are really protective and she’s afraid they’re not going to let her go. So she tries to do these things that she thinks will make her look more grown up and responsible, but they end up going wrong and she feels her chances of going on this trip keep slipping through her fingers.
First kudos on representation. This book has it in spades, from the diversity of the Daring Dreamers Club itself to Milla’s moms, this book approaches representation, I think, really well. It’s simply there and no one thinks anything of it. People have their differences, everyone’s really accepting of everything, and it creates for a really nice story. At the same time there is some suspension of disbelief required, but considering the target audience I imagine that’s far easier than someone like me reading the book. To keep it focused on Milla, I think the reality of her having two moms would cause some hurdles with her in school, but I think in the interest of not overcomplicating the story (and I think digging in that deep on something like that is more YA territory) and keeping it on Milla, whose food allergies and a past incident with a dog attack keep her parents hyper-attentive, and not her moms, and keeping it fairly lighthearted, it stays what it is. Again, middle grade is not something I read normally so I’m guessing a lot here.
I do like how everyone’s differences are emphasized in how they relate to the story as opposed to THIS PERSON IS THIS and THAT PERSON IS THAT. For instance Milla’s new friend Zahra is Muslim and when Milla invites everyone over to play with her pet pig, Zahra brings up that she’s Muslim and pigs are considered unclean so she can’t really touch him but let her ask her parents to see what would work. It’s not a THING that takes over the plot. It’s simply this is what’s going on in Zahra’s life and she has to make accommodations. Just like Milla has to make accommodations with her allergies. There’s a definite message of everyone is living different lives, but everyone’s still compatible so long as they’re willing to work together to accommodate the differences that everyone brings to the table.
It’s a cute book. I do wish the Disney princess aspect was brought into the story a little more. That’s more of a thing on the cover of the book than within the book itself. As part of an assignment the girls are made to choose a Disney princess that best suits them. And they all do, but the book cover alludes to all of the girls really being into Disney princesses, but that’s not the case. I don’t have an issue with the way it’s in the story, but the log line on the back cover is a little misleading.
Anyway, it’s a fresh story that’s really compelling with some great, strong, intelligent characters and I’m looking forward to reading more about them!
4
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is book one in the Daring Dreamers Club series and I imagine each book is going to follow one of the girls in the group (based on the snippet at the end of this one, Piper’s up next). We start with Milla who’s front and center on the cover and she wants to go on the fifth grade overnight, but her moms are really protective and she’s afraid they’re not going to let her go. So she tries to do these things that she thinks will make her look more grown up and responsible, but they end up going wrong and she feels her chances of going on this trip keep slipping through her fingers.
First kudos on representation. This book has it in spades, from the diversity of the Daring Dreamers Club itself to Milla’s moms, this book approaches representation, I think, really well. It’s simply there and no one thinks anything of it. People have their differences, everyone’s really accepting of everything, and it creates for a really nice story. At the same time there is some suspension of disbelief required, but considering the target audience I imagine that’s far easier than someone like me reading the book. To keep it focused on Milla, I think the reality of her having two moms would cause some hurdles with her in school, but I think in the interest of not overcomplicating the story (and I think digging in that deep on something like that is more YA territory) and keeping it on Milla, whose food allergies and a past incident with a dog attack keep her parents hyper-attentive, and not her moms, and keeping it fairly lighthearted, it stays what it is. Again, middle grade is not something I read normally so I’m guessing a lot here.
I do like how everyone’s differences are emphasized in how they relate to the story as opposed to THIS PERSON IS THIS and THAT PERSON IS THAT. For instance Milla’s new friend Zahra is Muslim and when Milla invites everyone over to play with her pet pig, Zahra brings up that she’s Muslim and pigs are considered unclean so she can’t really touch him but let her ask her parents to see what would work. It’s not a THING that takes over the plot. It’s simply this is what’s going on in Zahra’s life and she has to make accommodations. Just like Milla has to make accommodations with her allergies. There’s a definite message of everyone is living different lives, but everyone’s still compatible so long as they’re willing to work together to accommodate the differences that everyone brings to the table.
It’s a cute book. I do wish the Disney princess aspect was brought into the story a little more. That’s more of a thing on the cover of the book than within the book itself. As part of an assignment the girls are made to choose a Disney princess that best suits them. And they all do, but the book cover alludes to all of the girls really being into Disney princesses, but that’s not the case. I don’t have an issue with the way it’s in the story, but the log line on the back cover is a little misleading.
Anyway, it’s a fresh story that’s really compelling with some great, strong, intelligent characters and I’m looking forward to reading more about them!
4
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.