Here is a girl wondering why she has not heard more buzz about this book!I loved the way it pokes fun at the fact that it's a book by having the main character imagine that she's a character in a book. I loved the beautiful life reflections sprinkled throughout. I loved the utter real-ness of everything: Mysti's struggles, her internal dialogue, and the way she hides her home life as she just tries to survive each school day. I loved the way the heartache and beauty of friendship are both shown so clearly. And I loved Mysti. I can't wait to put this book into my students' hands! **May not be suitable for middle grades or Elementary Libraries as it contains language that may not be suitable for that age group**I really wanted to like this, I thought it sounded cute and endearing, a quirky girl with a quirky family. I thought it'd be right up my alley. That being said, I didn't like much about this story. I liked the friendships in this story and best friend character Rama Khan, but that is about it. I thought the plot was so far fetched and had me rolling my eyes with every turn of the page. The main character Mysti would have been far more charming as a 4th or 5th grader as she was too immature to be a passable 7th grader. Lots of groans about things she did and said. I might have considered it for my elementary library, but there was some profane language used by some of the middle school characters that I don't think is appropriate for middle age readers.My biggest problem was the lack of problem solving by the entire Murphy family. The father has an accident and winds up in a coma, it is really the thing that moves the story forward, but the way the family handles it and the problems that arise because of it was so unrealistic that I found myself becoming really annoyed with the characters. And not in a love to hate kind of a way.
What do You think about Courage For Beginners (2014)?
I thought is was good but I thought mysti should have told anibal off. And is there a sequel?
—eli75
