#MMGM: Violet and the Pie of Life by Debra Green

 

Seventh grader Violet Summers, 12, has always thought of her dad as a fun, loosey-goosey free spirit and her mom as a nagging, work driven spoil sport. And to make matters worse, they have been fighting much more than usual. Then, one day, Violet's dad moves out without much of a good-bye and goes radio silent. Meanwhile, at school, Violet's best friend McKenzie Williston talks her into auditioning for the school play The Wizard of Oz. McKenzie really wants to play Dorothy, but is cast as a monkey instead. Violet lands the part as the Lion, and the part of Dorothy goes to Ally Ziegler. Beautiful, talented, biracial Ally happens to be Violet and McKenzie's arch enemy (though Ally is completely unaware of this). McKenzie tries to talk Violet into quitting the play with her, but Violet decides she wants to do it. 

With her father gone, tension between Violet and her mom increases. Violet is sure that if her mom hadn't nagged so much, her father would have stayed. And she is hoping that attending her play will bring her parents together and they can become a whole family again. But the more her dad doesn't respond to her calls and texts, the angrier Violet gets at her mom.

As rehearsals begin for the play, Violet and McKenzie start to drift away from each other. Soon, Violet is eating lunch with Ally and her friends and she discovers that Ally doesn't have the picture perfect life that she and McKenzie always believed she had. 

As Violet's life unfolds, readers also learn about McKenzie's life. Her father had passed away years earlier, and her mother believes in free range parenting, which really amounts to plain old neglect. Her clothes are old and worn, but she had always found comfort in her sleepovers at Violet's house, and gets along well with her mother. Ironically, Mrs. Summers is the stable adult in McKenzie's life. She's is a real estate agent and, unlike Violet, McKenzie is interested in what she does, so Mrs. Summer's is beginning to teach her all about that business.

Parents separating is always hard on the children who inevitably believe it is their fault. Violet's father, who appeared to be a free spirit at first, really is just selfish and immature, behaving more like a spoiled child than a grown man. Her mother does come across as a nag, but as readers get to know her, they will see she is really a caring person who only wants the best for both Violet and McKenzie. 

Violet struck me as quite bratty at first, but she does change over the course of the novel. At first, she lets rehearsals and her father take up so much of her time that she begins to fall behind in school. Luckily, her math teacher is perceptive and quickly realizes that Violet is a math wiz and gives her a special math packet that is more challenging. In fact, one of the ways Violet deals with things in her life is by putting them into graphs, charts and other mathematical diagrams all through the novel.   

The real takeaway from Violet and the Pie of Life is that while math problems always work out just as they should, life doesn't but it does make for an interesting, engaging coming of age novel.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

This book was gratefully received from the publisher, Holiday House

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle

The Perfect Percival Priggs written and illustrated by Julie-Anne Graham

My Kiddo had a teacher in 1st grade who seemed to demand perfection from her students.  She never really said anything about it, but one morning I could hear my Kiddo listing the names of the kids in her class and after each name, saying yes or no.  When I asked what she was doing, she told me that counting the kids the teacher thought were the best, and the kids she thought were not.

I had wondered where she has gotten her sudden perfection anxiety, and now I knew.  Somehow, in some subtle way, and without realizing it, the teacher had sent her students a message about her expectations.  It took a long time to get that early influence out of my Kiddo's head.  Just do your best was as far as I take striving for perfection.

Bur, wanting to be perfect is a real problem with kids these day (well, truth be told, it has always been a problem) and I wish I had a book like The Perfect Percival Priggs to give my Kiddo.  Luckily, today's parents to have it.

Young Percival struggles to be as perfect as his seemingly perfect, overachieving, competitive parents and grandparents.  They all have awards and degrees galore on their shelves.  So does Percival, but unlike his parents, he doesn't enjoy any of his pursuits, in fact, he finds them exhausting - because always having to be perfect is exhausting.  But if he isn't perfect at everything, Percival is afraid his parents won't love him.

So, Percival finds himself with a long list of competitive things to do, that requires multitasking.  But when something goes wrong with the rocket he's invented and it accidentally destroys his mother's perfectly decorated, multilayered cake, Percival is sure the worst is going to happen.  Instead, his parents just laugh and they have a real surprise for him - not only do they still love him very much, but they show him an attic full of their own failures.

In the end, Percival finds things to do that he loves doing, and some of those pursuits fail, but it's OK, because what is important to him now, is knowing his parents love him no matter what.

I think this is a good book about perfection and performance for kids.  Percival's parents just did what they loved doing, not bothered by their failures, but proud of their successes.  But somehow, like my Kiddo's teacher, they sent a message to their son to emulate them.  It never occurred to them that Percival also need to see their failures, so to him, being like his parents means being perfect.

This is a well-written story with digitally collaged illustrations done in soft colors, with the exception of the dark hair and dark oversize glasses the Priggs all wear.  The illustrations are also very detailed and humorous, with lots of elements for young readers to explore on each page.  I liked that many of the pages have a textile-like background, giving the book a homey feeling.   But, I also liked the irony of the book's cover - the text The Perfect Percival Priggs imposed over a very messy illustration.

The Perfect Percival Priggs is a light-hearted look at a serious topic and one that kids need to be reminded of often.  It's back to school time now, and this would make a welcome addition in any classroom book.  It would also work well in a homeschooling situation, where learning is often one-on-one or a small group.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Running Press Kids