The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane by Kate O'Shaughnessy - ADVISABLE

The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane by Kate O’Shaughnessy, 282 pages.  Alfred A. Knopf (Penguin Random), 2020.  $17.  

Content: Language: PG (1 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG   

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

11yo Maybelle is left on her own quite often as her mother works two jobs, and during that time Maybelle dreams of meeting her father.  Maybelle hears her father’s voice as a DJ on a radio station and decides to enter in a singing contest in Nashville because he will be a judge there.  When Maybelle’s mother gets a job on a cruise ship, Maybelle is left with her neighbor, Mrs. Boggs, and together they embark on a road trip in her neighbor’s RV to get to Nashville for the singing contest.  

I'm not sure how believable this book is, but I still loved the idea that there are good people like Mrs. Boggs in the world.  The road trip was fun and a stowaway on the RV, (Maybelle’s nemesis, Tommy) makes for even more adventures.  Maybelle has severe panic attacks and suffers from guilt and abandonment, so there are heavy topics.  There is also a story about animal abuse and Tommy deals with a physically abusive stepmom.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson