A review by mindfullibrarian
The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee by Barry Jonsberg

4.0

Candice Phee is just as quirky as this book is, and I love them both. I really enjoyed the way the book was organized into chapters for Candice's alphabetical autobiography project - that was a first for me. The part that made me the happiest about this book, however, is how twice Candice is referred to as being autistic or on the spectrum and she just responds with "I'm me". That makes me so happy! Her parents are so imperfect and their emotions (and mother's depression) are so raw - that part of the story will hit home for many readers. In spite of that, there were so many parts of the book that made me laugh out loud - a great balance. I wouldn't say that this book is for every middle grade reader, and I would definitely trend older or least toward more mature readers with my recommendations simply due to the vocabulary and all of Douglas' talk of multiple dimensions and tesseracts. I believe the last time I even saw the word tesseract was when I read "A Wrinkle in Time" in 5th grade, and would definitely recommend this book fans of that series. Also recommended for anyone who loves stories about not fitting in and being true to oneself. This is a quick, very satisfying read. **Note: the only thing I did NOT like about this book is the use of the "R" word used multiple times by a classmate taunting Candice. While it is recognized in the story as being unkind, I'd prefer not to see the word in print.