43. The School for Whatnots

The School for Whatnots. Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2022. 304 pages. [Source: Library]

 First sentence: When Maximilian J. Sterling was born, his family celebrated by throwing a party for the whole city, complete with the biggest fireworks display anyone had ever seen.

Premise/plot: I do not want to give too much away. Yet, I want to give enough of a tease that YOU want to read this book. What to do???? Max, our hero, is best, best, best, best friends with a girl in his class, Josie. But on their last day of fifth grade, she leaves him a cryptic note: no matter what anyone tells you, I am real. He's puzzled. Of course, she's real. Why wouldn't she be real? What else could she possibly be? So begins his journey to find his best friend despite all odds. For his parents, sure enough, do come in with the, well, we've been keeping something BIG from you your whole life... and Max, well, Max doesn't handle it well. (Which is good for us! Plenty of tension, conflict, rising action!)

My thoughts: I loved this one. I loved, loved, loved it. I always talk big about how I go into "every" book with super low expectations. Nope, not Margaret Peterson Haddix. I always go in with HIGH expectations each and every time. I am rarely--if ever--disappointed. She's just that good.

I loved meeting Max and Josie. The unnamed (for most of the novel) narrator is interesting as well. I could see myself rereading this one at some point. I'd probably appreciate the narrator even more upon a second read. Perhaps be faster at picking up all the clues. This one was just a FUN puzzle to piece together. Great premise. Great carry through. (This isn't always the case with books. Sometimes there's an awesome premise but it just doesn't work all that great in execution.) I do think it's one that I will remember and want to come back to.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers