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Tween Tuesday: Mimi by John Newman

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. Join the fun and add your link below.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars


Genre: Contemporary 


Release Date: 8/2/2011


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About the Book: It's been 157 days since Mimi's Mammy died. Her father only serves overcooked pizza for dinner and is always sad, her brother plays drums loudly every day and Mimi knows that her sister has a terrible secret (thanks to the peeks she has in her diary). As her family struggles to pull themselves together after tragedy, they learn to come together rely on each other and help each heal.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Mimi is a sweet yet sad story about family and loss. Mimi is struggling to understand the tragedy of her mother's death and is feeling out of place as each of family members grieve in their own way. Her brother plays drums, her father is distant and her sister has a secret that she's afraid to tell others. Even though Mimi feels a bit lost, she's surrounded by a great support group of extended family. Her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins each take turns caring for Mimi's family and give Mimi a piece of normalcy in her chaotic world.

Mimi can be a bit innocent and naive at times and sometimes the story is over the top (for example, when Mimi's teacher goes into labor in the middle of class). Some of Mimi's family members are a bit eccentric, but I felt this all balanced out well with the sadness of the story and offered a glimmer of humor and hope. I especially liked Mimi's friend who is always telling her silly jokes. The author includes side storylines on adoption, bullying and shoplifting, making the plot well rounded. I felt that with the additional subplots, no storyline felt overly dramatic, but instead offered hope to readers.

This is a sweet and sensitive tale great for middle grade readers.

Side note: I listened to this one audio which I really enjoyed. The book takes place in Ireland, so the narrator has an Irish accent which is fun to listen  to, but left me reading all my books with an Irish accent in my head for days after!

Full Disclosure: Reviewed from audiobook checked out from my local library




Comments

  1. I really need to add more audiobooks to my list! I'll have to keep a special eye out for this one!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sound like a great read for those in need of hope!

    And awesome about the Irish accent. I love it :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Karen-I'm always looking for great audiobooks. I liked that this one was short so I was able to finish it quickly.

    YABookNerd-I love accents in audiobooks!:)

    ReplyDelete

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