A review by jademelody
The Becket List: A Blackberry Farm Story by Adele Griffin

3.0

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for the opportunity to read The Becket List before the upcoming release of the sequel All Pets Allowed!

This was such a cute middle grade / children's story!

The main character was cheerful and upbeat (even when unpleasant things happened to her). I really enjoyed that she embraced what made her different and strived to be anything but ordinary. I think that is an important message to be received by those who are younger reading this book.

I also really enjoyed the writing style of the author! I thought it was good for the targeted audience but still resonated with those above it as well.

Something I thought was tastefully added, even though it was quite sad, was the ending of the book. When I was younger, I had to go through the same thing as the main character at a similar age. It was one of the hardest things I had to go through back then and it really shows strength in the main character. I applaud the author for making what could be a controversial move.

There was one comment about a size of a boy in the book that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Something along the lines of him being XXL from head to toe. I get that is a way to describe that he is a bigger kid, but I think this could be written in a more tasteful way that doesn't sound so crude.

Other than that, I did enjoy this book! And would recommend for the targeted audience!