A review by dlberglund
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

4.0

Aven (also known as Sheebs... Long story), is a spunky middle schooler with a morbid sense of humor but some difficultly making friends after a move to a new state. She was born without any arms, which keeps small minded people from reaching out to her. So in her new life, she assembles a friend group of other kids who choose (are pushed to) spend time away from the other kids. Then she decides to solve a mystery. It's mostly fun, though some puzzle pieces that come together just a little too nicely are, well, implausible. But it is a middle grade novel, where kids can explore their relationships to their families and their own independence, and have it all end okay. It's important to have several different abilities represented in ways that seem realistic. (They may be a little smoothed over, but again... This is middle grade. Not YA.) I enjoyed reading it, and I think the targeted readers would, too.