conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Do you know a description for a book titled Eleven and Holding about Macy, Twee, There's with the genre: Children's Books, Growing Up & Facts of Life? End with the sentence ' Edwards, Formerly at Denver Public Library, CO'.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Gr 46Macy is feeling overwhelmed by change. There's the recent death of her grandmother, a new baby brother, and the reality that her best friend Twee won't be going to middle school with her in the fall. And it gets worse. While her dad has been away for much too long on "important business" following his discharge from the Marines, her mom seems to be spending too much time with the guy who bought Nana's coffee shop over the determined wishes of Macy. Her birthday is just days away, but Macy refuses to turn 12 until her dad can be with her to celebrate. She and Twee soon meet an old woman named Ginger who seems to suffer from some kind of dementia and is offering a reward for the recovery of her lost dog. Macy decides that searching for Ginger's lost dog may be the perfect cover for her true mission: finding her dad. Twee, who was born in Vietnam and adopted by an American family as a baby, tends to be the voice of reason. Despite Twee's influence, the jumble of issues and the mystery about Macy's dad's absence doing "hush hush" work for the military combine to push Macy to ignore all sanity and make some questionable decisionsheading off to the big city with a skateboarding underage boy on a motorbike promises high jinks and additional troubles to overcome. The blend of ordinary and unexpected events is appealing. Middle graders will relate to the theme of resisting change and accepting hard truths. VERDICT An emotional coming-of-age tale that will resonate with readers who appreciate contemporary, realistic, character-driven novels.Carol A. Edwards, Formerly at Denver Public Library, CO