Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.
Everything Is Fine. by Ann Dee EllisPublisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: March 2009
ISBN: 9780316013642
Source: Library
Things I Liked:
It was a heartbreaking and painfully real look at one girl's difficult life. I love how Ellis has managed to make the book not wholly depressing, despite the subject, with hopeful parts and glimmers of good things. Also, it was nice to have some "normal" experiences where Mazzy does some of those things all tweens do. Mazzy was such a tough character, unwilling to give up on her family and fighting hard to save her mother, all while dealing with adolescence essentially alone. A difficult but important book.
Things I Didn't Like:
It was very episodic, though I don't know that this is a bad thing necessarily. I also had a hard time believing (and maybe this makes me look naive) that things got that bad for her and no one did anything. Admittedly, the social worker kept coming, but there should have been more concern from neighbors (I hope).
Read-alikes:
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few
mrg-factor: none
v-factor: ->
not violent necessarily, but fairly disturbing sometimes
Overall rating: ****
Difficult but important books - what are your favorites?
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I hadn't heard of this book before. It sounds heavy, but well done. I think a few of my library kids might like a book like this. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteSmall Review, it's always nice when you have a book that you know might just be a great fit for a patron!
ReplyDelete