In the Senter of it All: It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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I was kind of on the fence about this book all the way through hoping that it wouldn’t make people of faith seem stupid or try to convince readers that God is not real. That was not at all the case.

Ivy’s mom runs off to join a church in Florida & leaves Ivy & her daddy to fend for themselves. This leaves Ivy questioning God and the faithfulness of her parents. Her friend Paul convinces her that they need to go find her mother and have an adventure along the way.

In the end, Ivy learns a lot about faithfulness, God, friendship and herself.

I anticipate this book getting some Newbery attention...

Genre: Realistic

AR level: none yet

Grade appropriate: 4th and up

RATING BREAKDOWN:

Overall: 5/5-- I ended up loving this little book. Ivy learns so much about herself and her inner strength and also comes to a peace with the mystery of God.

Creativity: 5/5--

Characters: 5/5-- Ivy and Paul! Love them!

Engrossing: 5/5-- Walked around the house reading and trying to do other things. It doesn’t work well...

Writing: 5/5--

Appeal to kids: 5/5-- Easy to read. Perfect for fans of Absolutely Almost and Because of Winn-Dixie.

Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5-- Quick read.

CONTENT:

Language: mild-- “Oh my God” twice. Ivy gets scolded for it.

Sexuality: none

Violence: none

Drugs/Alcohol: none

There is a lot of questioning of faith, but that’s a product of maturing in faith. Ivy comes to decide that God’s ways are unknowable. “God is really more like space. Big, wild, mysterious space.” Ivy’s good friend is basically an atheist and the woman she babysits for is a buddhist. The topic is skirted so often because so many people have different takes on faith. Scanlon handled this beautifully!