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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I loved this story and Mysti was a truly brave and lovable character. Harrington does such a great job writing realistic and likable characters within stories that have unusual and tragic subplots.
MIddle school OBOB 2017. Mysti starts 7th grade without her best friend, who has abandoned her to be cruel and popular. Her mother is agoraphobic and her father hits his head and has to spend several months in the hospital, leaving Mysti to walk to the store for the first time and cope with her mother's depression. Mysti is a likable and believable character, and her best friend is a Muslim girl with beautiful headscarves.
One can forgive Mysti her quirk of living a life within a life. A fictionalized version is often better than her real life that includes an agoraphobic mother, a father who is hospitalized after a fall, a former friend who, in the name of a social experiment, becomes one of her tormentors in middle school. This is a gripping and often heart-wrenching story that everyone who is seeking the courage to be in whatever stage of their lives should read. My newest favorite of the year.
I enjoyed this book overall, but it dragged a bit at the beginning and then rushed some storylines at the end. Rama Khan was a great character. I would have loved a friend like her in seventh grade.
Funny. Beautifully written. Bit sad, but a "good sad" (not sure if that makes sense but if you read it maybe you know what I mean?) Didn't know if I'd like it at first but ended up loving it. Also glad Agoraphobia seemed to be portrayed correctly.
Who knew? Who knew a story could weave so much together, fully encompassing the enormity of 7th grade? Everything from the family drama to the bullying to world exploration. LOVED IT!
Mysti Murphy understands what it means to be afraid. The family secret is that her mother hasn’t left their house in years. Mysti’s best friend, Anibal, was always supportive, but now he’s become a hipster, and Mysti is starting middle school alone. When her father ends up in the hospital, leaving Mysti to take on the responsibilities that her mother cannot, the family secret begins to take its toll on their ability to function. But Mysti is resilient and more courageous than she ever realized. As she begins to explore more of her world and reaches out to form new friendships, she faces fears, confronts her demons, and creates the possibility of change even in her own home. Despite the heavy themes, Mysti’s voice is full of humor and hope, and readers will find her to be a memorable, engaging protagonist. Her struggle with the pains of growing up will connect with a wide range of middle and pre-middle school fans of realistic, relatable stories.
Mysti dreams of going to France one day, but first she must survive 7th grade. She knows it is going to be a difficult year when her only friend Anibal decides to conduct a social experiment wherein he becomes a hipster and cool. In order to do that he has to ditch Mysti and in fact become a super jerk. Mysti is stuck on loser island with fact-filled Wayne Kovok (my name is a palidrome) and superhero Rama Khan (*not really a superhero but her name invokes it). Things at home aren't much better. Mysti's mom is agoraphobic and never leaves the house. This isn't a huge problem because dad is there to take care of things. When dad falls out of a tree and ends up in a coma things go downhill fast. Mysti is forced to take care of the family and try and stretch their meager supplies. She eventually has to figure out a way to get additional supplies when the family accepts the fact that dad isn't coming home anytime soon.
This is a story about acknowledging your situation and then taking steps to change the things you can change and accept the things you can't. Mysti takes a while to figure things out, but she eventually starts standing up for herself both at school and at home. It helps that Rama Khan is there to boost her up when she needs it. I enjoyed Mysti as a character, but I did get a bit frustrated by the story. These types of novels are all about the kids taking charge of their situations and becoming more resourceful which is great. And usually the parents are gone or withdrawn from the kids life. However, there is generally a bit more realism to the story. I thought Mysti's home and school life were very realistically portrayed. I could see trying to cope with a disabled parent and dealing with friends who abandon you. What I couldn't buy was no one realizing what Mysti's home life was like. It should have been a red flag at the hospital when the dad is there for weeks and weeks and no one comes to visit and the doctor has to talk to the mom on the phone about dad's care. It should have been another red flag when you have a 12 year old walking to the grocery store and only buying what will fit in her backpack. The neighbors should have noticed that the mom never left the house and stepped in. You would have thought even the school would have noticed. I guess I just wanted someone to realize what Mysti was going through and give her a break. It was an excellent book aside from that point.
This is a story about acknowledging your situation and then taking steps to change the things you can change and accept the things you can't. Mysti takes a while to figure things out, but she eventually starts standing up for herself both at school and at home. It helps that Rama Khan is there to boost her up when she needs it. I enjoyed Mysti as a character, but I did get a bit frustrated by the story. These types of novels are all about the kids taking charge of their situations and becoming more resourceful which is great. And usually the parents are gone or withdrawn from the kids life. However, there is generally a bit more realism to the story. I thought Mysti's home and school life were very realistically portrayed. I could see trying to cope with a disabled parent and dealing with friends who abandon you. What I couldn't buy was no one realizing what Mysti's home life was like. It should have been a red flag at the hospital when the dad is there for weeks and weeks and no one comes to visit and the doctor has to talk to the mom on the phone about dad's care. It should have been another red flag when you have a 12 year old walking to the grocery store and only buying what will fit in her backpack. The neighbors should have noticed that the mom never left the house and stepped in. You would have thought even the school would have noticed. I guess I just wanted someone to realize what Mysti was going through and give her a break. It was an excellent book aside from that point.
