As Simple as It Seems by Sarah Weeks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Verbena Colter has not been looking forward to the summer after fifth-grade graduation. Over the last year, she has drifted apart from her best friend, become self-conscious about having “the heaviest mother and the oldest father” among her classmates, and learned about a huge family secret. Is it any wonder that she’s been feeling “mixed up and mean”? Now, all she wants is to be anyone other than herself. When she takes an opportunity to do just that, it turns out to be a bit more than she bargained for.
I love the characters Weeks creates in this quiet novel. They feel like real people, with good points and bad, just trying to get along in the world. Verbena is at that age when the world suddenly looks a lot more complicated than it ever has, and her doubts and confusion ring true. She’s figuring out who she is and how to be herself. While she works through her own turmoil, the reader remains pretty sure that things will ultimately work out. Recommend to older elementary students who enjoyed THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY.
Book source: checked out from my library