Kid Konnection – Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze
Thirteen-year old Milo Cruikshank moves “about once every 2.5 years,” but it’s gotten harder since his mother passed away. Come to think of it, just about everything’s gotten harder since then, but Milo tries to carry on. Being the new kid again isn’t easy, especially now that Milo’s in junior high school.
Things aren’t too bad, though. Milo has a new best friend and has met the girl of his dreams – too bad she doesn’t know he’s alive. He’s also got a distant dad, who’s struggling with his own grief, an old lady across the street who doesn’t even know the rules of pumpkin carving, a next door neighbor who’s too friendly at times, and a sister who’s a pain.
Some days, it seems like nothing goes right for Milo, but in the end, he figures things out with the help of his new friends.
Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze written and illustrated by Alan Silberberg is recommended for ages 9 to 13, but I just loved it! (The illustrations are just as adorable as the story is!) I couldn’t help but love Milo and I think lots of kids will be able to relate to him. Milo is just your average kid trying to figure things out. He’s not cool, or popular, or particularly worldly and he and his family are struggling to figure out how to get along without Milo’s mother. I loved that with the help of his friends, Milo grew so much throughout the course of the book.
Milo’s dad has gotten rid of his mother’s things and doesn’t want to talk about her, which just makes things worse. Of course, he’s doing the best he can, but he needs some help, and Milo and his friends are just the ones to do it!
As I read Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze, I could tell that Alan Silberberg can remember exactly what it feels like to be thirteen years old, because this book brought back those feelings to me so well. It’s a time of confusion – you’re not a little kid anymore, but you’re not grown up yet either, and it’s easy to get hurt as you do. Milo felt very real to me and I have to admit that I was crying by the end of this wonderful book. It would make a great gift for the tweens in your life!
For more children’s books reviews, go to Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, leave a comment as well as a link on her site.
This sounds at once sad and cute! I like the concept of exploring loss and stress through smaller eyes. Looks like a good one!
Sounds good and I do like when an author remembers how it really was, not how is should have been, or how it never was
Books like Milo are very helpful to children living through the same experiences. Many times an adult might not know how to reach a child, the right words to use. An author can bridge the gap. Love this book review.
Oh my gosh I was almost crying just reading your summary of the plot! I’ve got to find this!
Fantastic review. Definitely one of the best tween books I’ve read this year. I, too, cried (a lot) at the end.
This one sounds great! My son’s not mature enough for the topic yet but I’m putting on the list for future reference. And I Love the cover!
Sounds like a great book for early teens – and probably for any kid who’s lost a parent. Really great review.
I’m as bad as rhaposdy, I’m all weepy. I may buy it for myself. Thanks for sharing, it’s so good to have more eyes than mine in a bookstore.
Great Review Kathy. I have this book TBR and hope that my son will read it. He’s 12 so he may appreciate some of the feelings of the tweens.
Noting it down for my teen since he could always do with more reading. The terrible teens not just for parents but for the teens who go through it as well… ah how we forget those turbulent times.
This does sound like a great book, and it also sounds like it deals with a lot of tough issues in a sensitive way and I bet it’s a book that Melissa would love and relate to rather well. Thanks for posting about this book. It will make a perfect Christmas present.
This sounds great — my nephews are just the right age, so I’ll think about this for Christmas.
What a fun review. This sounds like a very nice book for tweens, and from the cover, the illustrations seem really cute.
This one sounds great and who can resist a kid named Milo?!
I loved this book! The cartoons were the greatest ever. You made a fabulous summary!