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A review by iffer
Mimi by John Newman
4.0
This was an excellent novel both for elementary school children and adults about coping with the loss of a loved one. Although Mimi has a happy ending, as you would expect in children's book, I didn't feel like the author was attempting to sugar-coat anything or magically pull a happily-ever-after out. Although the ending is happy, I don't feel as though Newman was promising a quick fix; rather he conveyed, particularly by initially marking the chapters as days after Mimi's mother's death, the long slow struggle for adjustment and the eventual light at the end of the tunnel. Mimi was written in a candid, realistic way that doesn't "talk down" to children, but which is also hopeful.
It was also clear that Newman has an understanding of children (likely because he teaches elementary school), their feelings, and quirks. There was enough humor in Mimi that made me crack a smile that I wasn't bogged down with the seriousness of the main topic.
As a last random note, I thought it was interesting that Mimi is actually is an adopted Chinese-Irish girl, but that this is only referenced obliquely a few times in the novel until the very end. Personally, I think that it's a good thing that there could be a story out there with a protagonist that is not only adopted, but of a different race than her adoptive family, and not have it be the Issue of the novel.
It was also clear that Newman has an understanding of children (likely because he teaches elementary school), their feelings, and quirks. There was enough humor in Mimi that made me crack a smile that I wasn't bogged down with the seriousness of the main topic.
As a last random note, I thought it was interesting that Mimi is actually is an adopted Chinese-Irish girl, but that this is only referenced obliquely a few times in the novel until the very end. Personally, I think that it's a good thing that there could be a story out there with a protagonist that is not only adopted, but of a different race than her adoptive family, and not have it be the Issue of the novel.