The Meaning of Maggie is eleven year old Maggie’s own journal, covering 12 months of her life.
Maggie’s honest, plucky voice pulls the reader in to this authentic account of a young girl who must come to terms with her Dad’s illness… Multiple Sclerosis.
Maggie is a confident, likeable character. She’d love to become president one day, her sister Tiffany always calls her ‘weirdo’, oh and she loves libraries ….
‘I opened the library door and the smell of knowledge and dust hit me in the face. I loved everything about the library.’
In this case the libraries are going to help her. She renames the library desk her ‘research lab’ and sets about ploughing through the encyclopaedia in an attempt to find answers …. ‘I was doing my project on Dad. I was going to get one step closer to fixing him.’
Suffice to say that the next 12 months represent a steep learning curve for Maggie. As a reader we are pulled into her world, her mind – she’s a great character, but not infallible. I like that.
The Meaning of Maggie is honest, but not overly sentimental. Megan Jean Sovern carefully intertwines realism with comedic touches. It gentle nudges the heart strings rather than pulling on them mercilessly – just perfect for this age group I believe.
This is an engrossing chapter book that I highly recommend. What’s more, a portion of the proceeds from the purchase of this book will be donated to the National MS Society.
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