Levy, Dana Alison. The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
Delacorte Books for Young Readers (July 22, 2014)
E ARC from Netgalley.com
The new school year is starting, and the Fletcher boys are
getting ready. Frog is in kindergarten, Jax is in 4th grade, and Sam
is in 6th grade. Eli is the same age as Jax but not at Grove School
with the rest of them—he has chosen to go to the Pinnacle school for gifted
students. He isn’t settling into the new school all that well, and starts to
regret his choice, especially when his family storm the school (a chapter
title!) and he has to explain not only that Frog is from India, all the boys
are adopted, and they have a Dad and a Papa. Once people at the school know the
family, it’s easier, but the initial explanation to school mates is hard. The
book follows the family through the trials and tribulations of the year, with
anecdotes about Frog’s possibly imaginary friend, Ladybug Li (who has sisters
and two moms), soccer, a school play, Halloween, visits with Aunt Luce, a
cupcake baker, and a variety of run ins with the crabby Mr. Nelson, a new
neighbor who thinks that the boys attempts at being friendly are met to harass
him. Every chapter is headed with a note from one of the fathers or boys, and
humor abounds in ordinary situations.
Strengths: This book is reminiscent of family novels from my
childhood that go through the year and follow the exploits of the various
members, but is updated in a new millennium way that showcases diversity with
very little comment about it. The biggest mention is in Eli’s visit to his new
school, and that certainly rings very true. This is sort of the whole point of
#WeNeedDiverseBooks!
Weaknesses: This is rather young for middle school—perhaps
if there are more adventures from this family, the boys will be older and the
stories more interesting to the middle school crowd.
Sounds interesting. If you think it would be young for middle school, what ages would you recommend it for? 7-10, maybe?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely 7-10, and for a 5th-8th middle school, since I can see 5th and 6th graders reading it, too. After that, my readers don't want to read as much about families and parents, but prefer friends and adventure without parents.
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