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- Hannah’s life goes topsy-turvy when her best friend stops homeschooling and begins 6th grade in a building school
- unable to find new friends who like football, she’s forced into new situations which she resists
- convo: frequent complaining about “girly” things (dolls, wearing skirts, ballet, etc.), much disrespect toward elders, see below for more behavioral issues
- no language concerns
Type: chapter book
Ages: 8-12
Author: A.W. Downer
The premise for this book is certainly creative. It’s not every day (or ever) you find two 6th grade girls who obsess about the Green Bay Packers and play football at every chance. It adds great variety to all the princess-y and girly books out there, plus shows the world that “tomboys” are just fine. Hannah has quite the animated imagination, always comparing real-time scenes to football plays, elements of being on a team, having coaches, etc. This is creatively done in a readable way for the intended age range.
However, I had a serious problem with the girl’s attitude. Yes, this age range comes with heightened emotions, desire to be contrary, etc. Yes, the line between making that point and an unrealistically perfect child can be thin at times. But it IS doable. Authors don’t need to cross that line. Andrew Peterson is my favorite example–in the Wingfeather Saga books, Janner deals with all the same BIG feelings and thoughts. He struggles, sometimes lets them get the best of him, but he corrects himself and keeps trying. Hannah, on the other hand, is always full of sighs, glaring, not responding to adults, disrespectful thoughts, muttering, moodiness, sarcasm, and so on.
Through a large homeschool co-op, she is forced to work with other girls that do eventually become her friends, but the journey there is riddled with complaints and sourness. I will say that there were definitely times I understood and empathized with Hannah. Friendships are HARD work, they truly are. Both losing close friends and trying to make new ones weighs on you. But taking it out on your mom in constant disrespect, having yelling fights with others, and throwing a destructive tantrum in your bedroom are not the ways anyone should deal with this type of challenge.
The book ends with Hannah humbling herself, making various apologies, and successfully restoring friendships, even if they now look different. I would have greatly appreciated more content showing a reconciliation with her mother, but the friends were the focus of the story. Overall, I’m sad to say I can’t recommend this book. It’s hard for me to say that, because I quickly grew to admire the publishing company after meeting its founder, hearing her speak a couple summers ago, and reading other novels by Chicken Scratch Books. They have wonderfully high standards such as the exclusion of social agendas, sexual content, swearing, etc., but I don’t think this particular book met their goal of “positive relationships with parents and siblings.” Additionally, I think it took Hannah far too long to “learn from her mistakes” and to “react in positive ways to life’s challenges.” (Quotes taken from their website.)
For books I truly loved from CSB, see these reviews:
Paintball with Dragons, by Hope Bolinger
Perfect, by Kiri Jorgensen
