by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown
SYNOPSIS
Maddie is a normal twelve-year-old girl. Well, except for the fake mustaches she carries in her pocket. She likes to make people laugh and slapping on a mustache, especially a fuzzy pink or neon green one, always gets a smile. Maddie hopes that the class queen, Cassie, will find her mustaches as funny as she does and want to play with her at recess. She's been self-conscious lately because her right arm only feels normal when it's curled against her chest and she's constantly tripping over her feet. But that's probably just part of growing up and not something weird, right?
When Maddie's arm continues to bother her, her parents take her to a doctor who gives them a shocking diagnosis: the cause of the abnormal behavior of her limbs is a brain tumor and she must have surgery to remove it. She's understandably afraid as he describes the procedure, but knows she must find a way to be brave and must face her fears -- all of them -- at the hospital, at home and at school.
She will need all of her courage not only to face her illness, but also to face Cassie at school. Both Cassie and Maddie are auditioning for the same role in the school play, but when Cassie accuses Maddie of lying about her tumor in order to get attention, Cassie's bossiness turns into bullying.
And as Maddie's surgery approaches, she begins to worry more and more about the outcome. What if something goes wrong? What if the doctors don't get all the tumor out of her brain? What will happen to her family? What will happen to her?
It will take all of Maddie's vibrant imagination, a lot of kindness - both given and received - and of course, the perfect mustache to overcome the tough stuff ahead of her.
REVIEW
I found this to be a wonderfully entertaining book, full of life and love and hope!
The majority of the book is a pretty ordinary tale of a relatively normal girl who has to deal with the somewhat typical life of a middle-schooler. There are family issues to deal with (comprising a couple of parents and four rather pesky brothers), school stuff (including teachers, homework, fellow students, and one big-time bully), and all of the other day-to-day life challenges that a 12-year-old girl has to face.
But it becomes a whole new ballgame when Maddie is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Suddenly there are a lot more things to worry about and potential outcomes a lot more serious than anything she’s had to deal with before. The authors bring all of Maddie’s hopes and fears, triumphs and trials to light in a very unique and believable way. The reader really becomes immersed in the story and is able to put themselves in Maddie’s shoes.
While full of humor and fun, the book is still at it’s core about a young girl facing a brain tumor. As such, there is a lot of strong emotion to be felt, including some genuinely sad and concerning parts. Even knowing the outcome of the story ahead of time (since this story is based on the real-life experience of the authors’ daughter, who is still alive and well), there were several times when I was overcome by the emotion of the moment, and some instances that made me breakdown and cry.
About the only part of the book I did not like was the closing scene. I couldn’t entirely decide if this was supposed to be a dream or a conscious fantasy of Maddie’s, if it was based of actual events happening in real life or was totally fabricated in her imagination, or what. Despite all of the made-up segments throughout the story, to me this one just didn't seem to jive with the rest. And while I understand the authors’ reasons for ending the book on such an ambiguous note (since not all such stories have the happy ending that theirs did), I still found it very unsatisfying from a reader’s viewpoint.
Still, the book dealt wonderfully well in a realistic and yet hopeful way with some really delicate issues, including the health crisis faced by Maddie, as well as the bullying problems she faced at school. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it for all audiences.
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My family was lucky enough to attend one of the launch parties for
"Moustaches for Maddie"
ahead of its October 3, 2017 release date.
Here's me and my son Mikey with Maddie, Chad & Shelly!
The authors also rolled out a new anti-bullying and pay-it-forward initiative of theirs titled CIA: Compassion in Action!
You can learn more about it, and get a Compassion in Action Reader's Guide to "Mustaches for Maddie" at MustachesforMaddie.com.
Here's the rest of my family in attendance at the
"Mustaches for Maddie" Launch Party!
~
I received a free eBook version of this title from the author
and have willingly provided an honest review.
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