The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner. September 1, 2009. Walker Children's. 208 pages. ISBN: 9780802798428Gianna is a procrastinator. She knows she has to collect 25 leaves for her science project to avoid being kicked off the cross-country team, but as the deadline approaches, she finds herself becoming more and more distracted and less and less prepared to complete the assignment. To make matters worse, her grandmother has started to become very forgetful, to the point that she gets lost in familiar places and forgets the names for household objects. Gianna’s mom doesn’t want to admit that anything is wrong, which makes Gianna even more anxious and even more distracted. There’s also a mean girl at school who seems determined to sabotage any progress Gianna makes. It’s a good thing Gianna has a great friend like Zig to help her get through the tough times - he might be her only hope for things to work out!
I enjoy Kate Messner’s Marty McGuire books, and her mystery-adventure books about the Jaguar Society, and I was curious to see what her early middle grade novels are like. Though I couldn’t get into
Sugar and Ice,
The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. grabbed my attention from the very start. Gianna is a likeable girl whose flaws seem very real to me. It seems like I have read a lot of books about girls who are really bookish, responsible, and focused, but not as many about sports-minded athletes who struggle to finish homework assignments and whose lives are somewhat up in the air. I like that Gianna doesn’t have it all together, but that her heart is in the right place, and she never stops trying.
I also enjoyed the relationships Gianna has with the supporting characters. Gianna’s mom, grandma, and best friend, Zig, each came strongly to life, and I loved the gentle ways they supported Gianna even when she was driving them crazy with her disorganization. It was also very satisfying to see Gianna eventually forge her own path where she gets her assignment done in her way, with her own style, instead of in a traditional format that might work for more traditional thinkers.
The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. is a great middle grade novel about a very real girl. Readers will easily empathize with Gianna as she struggles to conquer her homework assignment, and they will fully understand her frustrations and triumphs on the road to success. I would recommend this book to girls who have enjoyed Ann M. Martin’s
Ten Rules for Living with My Sister and Tricia Rayburn’s Maggie Bean books. It’s a perfect choice for middle school girls, especially those who might not relate to more picture-perfect fictional heroines.
I borrowed The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. from my local public library. For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.
Hide and Seek. by Kate Messner. April 1, 2013. Scholastic. 256 pages. ISBN: 9780545419758At a ceremony honoring them for their role in saving the original American flag from thieves, junior Silver Jaguar Society members Anna, Henry, and Jose learn that another valuable artifact is missing. The Jaguar Cup, an important piece of Jaguar Society history, has been replaced with a counterfeit. The senior members of the Society must head immediately to Costa Rica to investigate. Their parents want to keep them safe, so the three kids are left with a society member named Michael and his daughter, Sofia, but that doesn't stop them from gathering evidence. When the senior members of the society are stranded due to an earthquake, and suspicious people start appearing at Michael's lodge, the kids find themselves in serious danger, as the thieves do their best to get away with what they've done.
Though this book seems like a mystery at first, I think it's better to think of it as an adventure novel. The kids do spend some time gathering clues and analyzing evidence, but the truly exciting parts of the story have them running around the rainforest in the dark, accidentally petting giant spiders and wielding machetes at poisonous snakes. There is some character development, particularly involving Jose's role as the "smart kid" of the group, but the plot is the main focus. The story is action-packed, filled with moments of triumph and exhilaration, as well as frustration and defeat. Readers have the chance to learn about the culture and climate of Costa Rica while also watching with their hearts in their mouths as the cup slips out of the kids' reach again and again.
When I was a kid, I used to imagine all the heroic things I would attempt to do if I were ever kidnapped or chased by an evil criminal mastermind. I suspect these kind of ridiculous scenarios are common in the imaginations of a lot of kids, and this book taps into those thoughts. Jose, Anna, and Henry have unlikely experiences, but I can't imagine a child who wouldn't enjoy living vicariously through them. Everything that happens to them - even the scary things - seems like it would be very exciting!
The story has a fast pace and straightforward writing, making it a quick, enjoyable read for even the most reluctant of readers. Reading the first book is not required to follow the story, so Hide and Seek would even work as a classroom aloud for fourth or fifth graders.
Hide and Seek is a perfect choice for kids who like The Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, and for readers who enjoyed
Madhattan Mystery and
Chasing Vermeer.
I received a digital ARC of Hide and Seek from Scholastic via NetGalley. For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.
Marty McGuire Digs Worms! by Kate Messner. February 1, 2012. Scholastic. 176 pages. ISBN: 9780545142458
Marty McGuire’s class has an assignment. Each team of students must come up with a plan to save the planet. With the help of her quirky and hip Grandma Barb, Marty puts together a great project where worms will turn leftover cafeteria food into fertilizer. Marty doesn’t realize how long this process will take, though, and she makes a bunch of promises to her classmates that she quickly realizes she cannot keep. When the class starts getting angry at Marty for the way things are going, she tries to speed things along, resulting in a worm escape! Marty must find a way to save the Earth and save her friendships with her classmates.
I thought
Marty McGuire was a pretty solid chapter book despite its heavy-handed treatment of gender issues, but this sequel definitely impressed me more. Marty isn't like most other chapter book heroines, and this story does a wonderful job of highlighting that fact without actively reminding the reader of it all the time. Marty is science-minded and loves to get her hands dirty, which is great, and I think kids are certainly drawn to her impatience and her desire to do the right thing, even if she doesn’t always manage to do it. Kids will also love the interesting way that Marty and her friends recycle their cafeteria garbage, and the idea is simple enough that they might just be able to implement it in their own communities.
Veronica Grace continues to be a bit of a walking “mean girl” stereotype, which is too bad, since that stereotype seems inescapable in children’s books these days, but the other characters are pretty fairly balanced portraits of average kids. Aside from the characterization, there are also a lot of great details describing objects and situations in Marty’s day to day life. I loved the line about kids being “crocodile-snapped” in auditorium chairs, and I thought it was great when Marty speculates that her teacher might be looking forward to lunch just so she can feed her lettuce to the worms.
This series is a great alternative for girls who don’t relate to themes like fashion and boys, and who are interested in recycling, going green, and improving our planet.
Marty McGuire Digs Worms is a great second installment to a well-written and entertaining series.
I borrowed Marty McGuire Digs Worms from my local public library.
