Review: The Meaning of Maggie
Maggie Mayfield is doing what any other responsible future President of the United States would do, writing her memoir. She’s got plenty to write about, too. She’s a star student who loves school and has two annoying older sisters. Plus, there are lots of changes going on at home – her mom has gone to work because her dad had to quit his job for health reasons.
Maggie’s got a lot on her mind as she starts middle school. She meets a new boy who makes her feel nervous, has to come up with a great project to defend her Science Fair title, and figure out what’s going on at home. Her dad’s in a wheelchair now and his legs are “asleep” all the time.
The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern is a fantastic coming of age story! I adored Maggie – she’s heartfelt and sincere and just a little self-absorbed in the way most kids are. She’s set some great goals and is serious about meeting them. She can’t understand why her mom isn’t doing as much for her as she used to and thinks her older sisters are shallow. A few things happen during the year that help Maggie realize what’s going on with her dad and how her family is coming together.
The family dynamics in this book are so true to life. The sisters squabble but deep down inside they love each other. When the chips are down, they all pull together.
Sovern tells Maggie’s story with humor and grace and lots of 70’s references that I adored. Young readers won’t understand some of the humor but they’ll understand the heartfelt lessons Maggie learns. I can’t tell you how much I loved The Meaning of Maggie – I recommend it to everyone from middle school on up!
I will link this up to Booking Mama’s Saturday 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 tomorrow.
This sounds really good! My granddaughter would probably like it!
Sounds adorable!
Sounds like one all school libraries should buy. Loved your review.
This sounds like a great read!
Great review, and it reminds me of the few books I have read and loved for this age group. Thanks!
This sounds like a great book for my niece!
This sounds great! I bet the 70s references are fun.
I do love the sound of this book…I need to remind myself to read more of this kind of book.
Sounds like a fun read! (I’d like to think I wouldn’t get the 70s references, but would probably get most that weren’t US specific, and probably some of those too!)
I love that cover 🙂
Kathy, Maggie does sound like an enjoyable book. Terrific review, as always!
I like the sound of this one!
Sounds like a good one Kathy. Hadn’t heard of it previously.
The child’s name is enough to make me want to add it to our family library. 🙂 Still a little too old for my daughter, but this sounds like a great book.
I have this on my pile and now I’ll be sure not to miss it. Sounds really good.
Not one for kids lit quite yet but this one appeals to me!
(Maybe because I always secretly wanted a sister?)
Sounds like a great book!
Sounds cute!
OMG! I love coming-of-age stories and it takes place during the 70s! Sounds wonderful!
This sounds so good. I love these kinds of stories.
when I was first diagnosed with MS and had to be in a wheelchair for awhile my son was 6. It took awhile for us to figure out why he started acting out so badly until finally one day his teacher told me he thought I was dying. This sounds like a much-needed resource for libraries, parents and children. Thanks for sharing!