Kate Messner is a shining voice in middle-grade fiction, and her characters will rank right up there with Sharon Creech's for best-friend potential.
Messner effortlessly introduces us to the totally normal yet exceptionally charming Zales family within just a few pages. Characterization leaps off the page: Gianna's mother, father, little brother, and grandmother all sound like they could be your next-door neighbors, the smoothness with which their characters are developed an unfortunately rare accomplishment in fiction.
The story is a beautiful weave of school troubles, family troubles, dealing with memory loss, and exploring new romantic feelings for your close friend. That's a lot to pack into a book, but it never feels overwhelming. Messner proves that it's not about the number of issues you are or aren't allowed to include in a book, but rather the way the author integrates the problems. And she does it beautifully.
It may be a little early to say this for sure, but Kate Messner just might become one of my favorite middle-grade authors. Her prose is effortless and her characters rich, and readers of all ages will be able to fall in love with the characters and find a bit of themselves in the book. THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z transcends its genre boundaries and becomes a classic tale of growing up that will reach anyone's heart.
Messner effortlessly introduces us to the totally normal yet exceptionally charming Zales family within just a few pages. Characterization leaps off the page: Gianna's mother, father, little brother, and grandmother all sound like they could be your next-door neighbors, the smoothness with which their characters are developed an unfortunately rare accomplishment in fiction.
The story is a beautiful weave of school troubles, family troubles, dealing with memory loss, and exploring new romantic feelings for your close friend. That's a lot to pack into a book, but it never feels overwhelming. Messner proves that it's not about the number of issues you are or aren't allowed to include in a book, but rather the way the author integrates the problems. And she does it beautifully.
It may be a little early to say this for sure, but Kate Messner just might become one of my favorite middle-grade authors. Her prose is effortless and her characters rich, and readers of all ages will be able to fall in love with the characters and find a bit of themselves in the book. THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z transcends its genre boundaries and becomes a classic tale of growing up that will reach anyone's heart.
Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com
If Gianna Zales doesn't finish her seventh-grade leaf collection project in time, her spot in the cross country sectionals will be filled by her nemesis. Though she had plenty of time to do the project, Gianna left it until the last minute.
It doesn't help her state of mind that her father drives her to school in a hearse, her grandmother keeps forgetting things, and her mother pretends like nothing is wrong.
This fall will be a disaster if Gianna can't pull it together and take her project all the way to the finish line.
The warm-up stretched just the right muscles so I was ready to take on the smooth cross country pacing of the novel. I trotted happily along through Gianna's story and enjoyed the scenery along the way. The emotional hills and valleys gave me a satisfying workout, and the cool down in the end made for a perfect run.
Messner not only reached the finish line with THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z., she won the gold and the crowd went wild.
If Gianna Zales doesn't finish her seventh-grade leaf collection project in time, her spot in the cross country sectionals will be filled by her nemesis. Though she had plenty of time to do the project, Gianna left it until the last minute.
It doesn't help her state of mind that her father drives her to school in a hearse, her grandmother keeps forgetting things, and her mother pretends like nothing is wrong.
This fall will be a disaster if Gianna can't pull it together and take her project all the way to the finish line.
The warm-up stretched just the right muscles so I was ready to take on the smooth cross country pacing of the novel. I trotted happily along through Gianna's story and enjoyed the scenery along the way. The emotional hills and valleys gave me a satisfying workout, and the cool down in the end made for a perfect run.
Messner not only reached the finish line with THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z., she won the gold and the crowd went wild.
