What! "Dad! You're totally missing the point!"
"Calm down, I get it. But first things first. Push me over to my records.
Before her Dad would even talk about the boy she had come to like, he made her listen to Neil Young's music. Her new friend, she hoped, had Young's name written on the bottom of his shoes! Maggie's 11th birthday was coming soon and this was the first time she had even been interested in the opposite sex! Her love for school, learning, books had always taken up her time, but now...
~~~
The Meaning of Maggie
By Megan Jean Sovern
I loved this book! It may be one for young girls, but I found I identified with Maggie, quite a bit, especially about studying and books...But it was her project for the Science Fair that made me want to stand up and applaud her...even if she couldn't do the project she'd set out to do...
Even though Maggie was very intelligent, when things started to change at home, she was not told the whole story. Her father was now going to stay home and take care of the kids, while her mother was going to take a job... What?!
I couldn't believe itg. I had asked him to buy me stock in Coca-Cola for my birthday and he'd actually done it.
I pulled the paper out of the envelope, which was manila because important things come in manila envelopes. The certificate was fancy and official and said I had three whole shares of stock in my name. Coca Cola was a blue-chip stock too, which meant it made more money than most, which meant I was going to be a millionaire.
I wasn't just Maggie Mayfield, the girl, anymore. I was Maggie Mayfield, member of a carbonate dynasty! It no longer mattered that Mom never allowed me to drink it, now I owned it! I bet you get to drink all the Coke you want at the annual shareholders' meeting!...
"Mother" I announced. "I'm rich."
~~~
Maggie had set her career goals quite some time ago. She was going to become President of the United States. But when she turned 11 and things started changing at home, I wondered whether that would change along the way...Even when her father began to talk about the pain in his legs and not being able to walk or stand too long, Maggie didn't realize or accept that he would be "fixed" and back to her as he once was... And then, it was when she was thinking about what she'd do for this year's Science Fair, she got the idea... She would fix him! So, without sharing her project with anybody, she started to do the required research to bring her up to a full knowledge of the topic--the words that they had told her that described what was wrong with her father--Multiple Sclerosis... |
| You know how in Sleeping Beauty, the prince kisses the princess and she wakes up? Well, at least, I hear that's how it happened. I don't like seeing kidding so I always look away at that part. But that's kind of how I felt when Layla said what she did. A kiss shake me out of sleep. Her words did... And I hadn't even realized I'd been asleep. Metaphorically asleep. Figuratively in the dark about one huge things: All that was happening wasn't just happening to me. It was happening to all five of us. And all of us were scared. All of us were confused. And none of us knew what was going to happen next. ~~~ .
Highly recommended,
GABixlerReviews
.
|
This is quite a heartwarming story. Maggie was happy for the most part, except for the pain of having to share her bedroom with a sister...
And then her best friend, her Dad was affected by a disease...Really, it could have been his being hurt in an accident or during war, or some other tragedy, because any young girl whose life is affected by her special relationship with her father may one day have to face what Maggie did when she was...just turning 11...
Most of the story is just the daily activities in Maggie's life. It is great to read her story and other girls will either love her or hate her, especially if they are not a nerd, smart girl in class... But once a traumatic change affects her, I believe all young girls and boys, too, will understand how her life also was changed, even though she remained exactly the same person that she was when she was 10...
There is the first recognition of boys in the book, but very little interaction, as it should be at this age...just beginning to recognize that boys can be friends too and have the same interests... This is totally age appropriate in my opinion...
Even if your family is perfect physically at this time, I wholeheartedly recommend that this type of situation be shared with your children. It is never too early to allow a book to show some of life's pain when there is none--to help prepare children...
This is a book that wonderfully teaches, but still is an enjoyable experience for anybody who reads the story! If there are one or more physically handicapped individuals in the family, why not make this a must-read maybe during some family time...
Megan Jean Sovern is a purveyor of fine teas, old time-y music and hugs. Recently she was in a bad break-up with muffins and her life hasn’t been the same since. She’s often mistaken for a seventh grader but don’t be fooled, she is very grown-up. A grown-up who watches television past ten o’clock and everything.
Before her first leap into fiction, she was an advertising copywriter for many moons where she worked with top-notch talent mostly named Matt or Karen. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Ted and his near complete collection of Transformers. He doesn’t like it when she says, “Zoinks.”
Before her first leap into fiction, she was an advertising copywriter for many moons where she worked with top-notch talent mostly named Matt or Karen. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Ted and his near complete collection of Transformers. He doesn’t like it when she says, “Zoinks.”
No comments:
Post a Comment