Shockingly, I'd been reading a non-fiction book the last couple of weeks, but a little more than half-way through, I needed to pause to read some fiction. One of the best things about working at a library is seeing things that people have returned. Last week, someone returned this book and the cover grabbed my attention. Then I noticed that my friends at Feiwel and Friends published it, and that the author is the author of 11 Birthdays, a book that I enjoyed when it came out. SO, I simply checked it out to myself before ever returning it to the shelf.
(Feiwel and Friends, 2018)
Nearly 11 year old Livy is returning to Australia to visit her Gran for the first time in five years. Though she was five the last time she was there, she oddly doesn't recall anything about the trip, even though there's something inside screaming that there was something very important that she was supposed to remember.
That something exists in the attic of her bedroom. It's a smallish creature who has been waiting five years for her to return. The problem is, there's a magic attached to Bob (the creature), a magic that makes people forget him unless they are in possession of a charm. Once Livy remembers, the adventure begins. Together, her and Bob must solve the mystery of what Bob is, where he came from, and how to get him home.
This is a quick read, but don't let the thinness of the book deceive you. The story's depth is far bigger than the slightness of the pages. Part fairy tale, part mystery, the surface story is perfect for upper elementary school children. But there is a deeper level to the story, one about a girl trying to come to terms with the five year old she used to be. This is something every child goes through, trying reconcile who they've become with who they were and accept that we are always only one person.
A sweet and touching story that is nicely done and never sugar-coated.
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