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jenbsbooks 's review for:
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
by Dusti Bowling
This wasn't one of the books I had on my radar (TBR stack) for my #MiddleGradeMay challenge, but as I have some young nieces, I figured I'd ask if there were any books that were a favorite for them, and this one (which I hadn't heard of before) was mentioned. I did really like it, but my initial "adult doing a quick read of a middle-grade book" probably would have been a 3/5* star rating. After glancing at the included discussion questions, and re-reading portions (I went with the audiobook, but I also checked out the Kindle copy), I think this bumped it up to at least 4.5* I see there are sequels - I haven't fully committed to reading them, yet.
1st person, past tense. 39 numerical chapters. The "voice" here was very conversational.
In addition to Aven, there is Conner, who has Tourette's. I've known a couple of people with Tourette's, but much milder cases. It was interesting to see how both children coped, how they treated each other (their own situation maybe making them more compassionate towards others?) as well as Aven's parent's easy acceptance of Conner. And Aven's connection to Spaghetti. ;)
Honestly - I struggled a bit to picture Aven being able to do as much as she does here ... but I did a search and found some videos of people in a similar situation, one of a 10 year old girl, so that helped me visualize and accept it more (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWBnQj-bEjo).
I appreciate a title tie-in (and a unique/clever title) ... Ch8 discusses the cactus (and it has like seven arms!) and how long it lives, and the "insignificance" of these "little" tribulations (in that perspective). Growing up in the LDS church, there is a bit of that (this Earth life in light of the whole eternity perspective) ... and honestly, that was always something I struggled with a bit. To continue the cactus theme ... Aven played a cactus in a play once, and while not noticeable in audio format, in print, the big chapter numbers are little spiky cactus numbers.
Beyond the personal struggles of our characters (and there is also an overweight boy Aven and Conner befriend ... this little trio reminded me a bit of the three "outcast" characters in "Friends For Life" by Andrew Norris, which is is another mg/ya dealing with some serious stuff, a favorite of mine (that I have recommended) ... ANYWAY, beyond that, there's a bit of a mystery that gets unraveled, with a satisfactory conclusion (to me).
1st person, past tense. 39 numerical chapters. The "voice" here was very conversational.
In addition to Aven, there is Conner, who has Tourette's. I've known a couple of people with Tourette's, but much milder cases. It was interesting to see how both children coped, how they treated each other (their own situation maybe making them more compassionate towards others?) as well as Aven's parent's easy acceptance of Conner. And Aven's connection to Spaghetti. ;)
Honestly - I struggled a bit to picture Aven being able to do as much as she does here ... but I did a search and found some videos of people in a similar situation, one of a 10 year old girl, so that helped me visualize and accept it more (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWBnQj-bEjo).
I appreciate a title tie-in (and a unique/clever title) ... Ch8 discusses the cactus (and it has like seven arms!) and how long it lives, and the "insignificance" of these "little" tribulations (in that perspective). Growing up in the LDS church, there is a bit of that (this Earth life in light of the whole eternity perspective) ... and honestly, that was always something I struggled with a bit. To continue the cactus theme ... Aven played a cactus in a play once, and while not noticeable in audio format, in print, the big chapter numbers are little spiky cactus numbers.
Beyond the personal struggles of our characters (and there is also an overweight boy Aven and Conner befriend ... this little trio reminded me a bit of the three "outcast" characters in "Friends For Life" by Andrew Norris, which is is another mg/ya dealing with some serious stuff, a favorite of mine (that I have recommended) ... ANYWAY, beyond that, there's a bit of a mystery that gets unraveled, with a satisfactory conclusion (to me).