Book Review: What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb

What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Publication date: August 2010
ISBN: 9780061986352
Source: Review copy provided by publisher

Mo has lived on Fox Street her whole life - it is filled with memories of summers and life and her mother, who is gone.  When one summer brings impending changes and impossible to imagine things, Mo has to decide what is most important to her and what she is willing to accept in life. 

Things I Liked:
This was a thoughtful little book about one girl trying to deal with change and challenges in life.  It's got a sweet main character, who is coming to terms with some hard things.  I loved how it seemed to capture just perfectly the feelings of a girl who finds things are changing around her and she doesn't like that.  I remember feeling the same way, about people and places and things.  It definitely has charm and can help tweens who might be facing similar struggles to deal with them.

Things I Didn't Like:
I am pretty sure this is a book that will appeal to adults much more than to kids.  Not a lot happens in the book.  It just seems to be about feelings and not about action.  I'm pretty sure adults can sell it to the right kids, but the adults will enjoy it much more for its nostalgia than kids will (I know I did).  I wasn't quite as in love with this book as I was with others that have similar feelings (see below).  I'm not entirely sure why, either.  Still, I think some sensitive kids will find a place for it in their hearts.

Read-alikes:
A bit like Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
And maybe A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none
well, some stuff is implied

v-factor: none

Overall rating: ***

Would this kind of book have appealed to your younger self?

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