insignificant events in the life of a cactus pages

With a cast of likeable characters and quirky humour, readers young and old are likely to find this an inspiring and charming read. The book seizes every opportunity to challenge a negative attitude or bust a stereotype, whether around gender, disability, race, family structure or adoption. Fourteen-year-old Aven has just settled into life at Stagecoach Pass with her adoptive parents when everything changes again. Both are handled sensitively, having clearly been well researched and supporting a healthy 'can do' message. 'In the sequel to Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus (2017), Aven Green confronts her biggest challenge yet: surviving high school without arms. It’s pleasing to see rarely depicted conditions like Tourette’s and limblessness.

Together, they have a mystery to solve, as the theme park conceals some surprising secrets…

Moving to Arizona and being a newbie, however, brings new challenges. Thankfully, she forms powerful friendships with Connor (who has Tourettte’s Syndrome) and Zion (who’s overweight). She’s always gone to school with the same friends, and her adoptive parents have ensured she’s felt able to do pretty much anything, just finding a different way to do it. (Sept.Aven’s dad has just been offered a new job, managing a rundown theme park, so the family must move from their Kansas home.Īven, who has no arms, has never lacked confidence. Agent: Shannon Hassan, Marsal Lyon Literary. The paperback edition of the bestselling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges. A major revelation that leads to a somewhat-too-tidy ending is a minor blemish in an otherwise openhearted, empathic book. Summary: Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. Bowling’s novel demonstrates how negotiating others’ discomfort can be one of the most challenging aspects of having a physical difference and how friendship can mitigate that discomfort. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus Author: Dusti Bowling Published September 5th, 2017 by Sterling Children’s Books. Bowling, the author of three self-published YA novels, lets readers see Aven as a full, complex teenager-even while those around her have trouble doing so-and gives her a sharp sense of humor, including a penchant for inventing gruesome stories about how she lost her arms.

After days of self-consciously eating her lunches in a bathroom stall at school (she eats with her feet), Aven opens up to two students: Connor, who has Tourette’s syndrome, and Zion, who is teased for being overweight. When her adoptive parents take jobs at an Arizona theme park, Aven leaves behind her comfortable social life, starting over with new peers and teachers to stare at her. Thirteen-year-old Aven Green, the heroine of Bowling’s sensitive and funny novel, was born without arms due to a rare genetic condition.

Insignificant events in the life of a cactus pages