Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.
| This is a really well-crafted book about friendship. Aven, the main character, has grown up without having arms, learning to do things herself because her parents want her to be capable of caring for herself. She is good-natured, has a big heart, and isn't afraid to shut down those who want to make fun of her or others because they are different. While Aven is differently-abled, the book centers on her friendship with two other social "outcasts": Connor, a boy with Tourette's Syndrome, and Zion, a slightly overweight African-American boy. Through their friendship, Aven learns how to support those who, like her, get the "look" but also how to be supported by her friends as well. There's a mystery on the side that the friends try to solve, but mostly the book is about how Aven, Connor, and Zion work together to be good friends to each other and how to push themselves to step out of their comfort zones. I really liked Aven's narrative voice. She's strong, but she isn't completely invulnerable to the comments of others. She's confident in herself, but she has some learning to do and by the end of the novel, you can see the growth she's made. I particularly love Aven's parents, who give her the right amount of support, but also push her to try things for herself and to support herself so that she doesn't have to rely on them for everything. The setting of this story is also really neat and gives Aven a chance to stretch her wings and show her talents in ways even she didn't know she had. There's a lot of humor, thoughtful handling of differently-abled peoples and adoption, and the characters are so well rounded and dynamic. I'd recommend this book to anyone, but especially kids who are either in middle school or are entering middle school and are worried they won't fit in or if they just want a fun, realistic fiction to read. |
No comments:
Post a Comment