Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe by Jo Hackl - ESSENTIAL

Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe by Jo Hackl, 240 pages. Random House, 2018. $17. 

Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Cricket’s grandmother died. Then her depressed mother left town. Then her father died. Now her aunt has conveniently forgotten her at Thelma’s Cash n’ Carry. There’s only one thing to do. Find her mother. She takes a few things from the store and hikes out to the treehouse her dad built near an old, abandoned town. She puts her survival skills to use and searches for clues that will lead her to a mysterious room of paintings her mother stumbled on many years ago.

This book covers many topics that will appeal to middle grade kids. It has adventure and survival on one hand, but a sentimental mother/daughter relationship on the other. Cricket’s mother is mentally ill, but Cricket still finds many things about her to admire. Despite all the tragedy in her life, Cricket is a strong, independent girl, a great role model. This author has a writing style similar to Leslie Connor and Sheila Turnage.

Valerie McEnroe, Media Specialist