There's a few 'in between' days before we head from Christmas into the New Year, and I have a few fun reads lined up. The first is giving me Diary of a Wimpy Kid vibes but with a science twist? I think? It is pretty long at 320 pages, though, so I'm curious what is in these pages and have a feeling it will pack more than a smile or two.
MAPLE'S THEORY OF FUN
by Kate McMillan &
Ruthie Prillaman
Aladdin
Middle Grade Humor / Contemporary
320 pages
ages 8 to 12
Perfect for fans of Dork Diaries and Emmie & Friends, this first book in a diary-style illustrated middle grade series follows an anxious, science-minded sixth grader determined to become fun and win back her friend.
Sixth grade has been pretty disaster-free for aspiring astronaut Maple McNutt—which is impressive, given the number of worries and possible catastrophes that run through her head every day. (So far, Earth hasn’t been devoured by a black hole and a cockroach hasn’t crawled out of her toothpaste mid-squeeze. Phew!) But then her best friend of seven-point-two years, Sunny Gwon, accuses her of being unfun and starts hanging around with a new group of friends.
In order to win Sunny back, Maple decides to undergo a serious scientific transformation to become fun by 1. Doing extensive research, 2. Applying research to self, and and 3. Repeating until fun. It’s risky and groundbreaking research, but Maple has no choice if she wants to save her friendship.
Sixth grade has been pretty disaster-free for aspiring astronaut Maple McNutt—which is impressive, given the number of worries and possible catastrophes that run through her head every day. (So far, Earth hasn’t been devoured by a black hole and a cockroach hasn’t crawled out of her toothpaste mid-squeeze. Phew!) But then her best friend of seven-point-two years, Sunny Gwon, accuses her of being unfun and starts hanging around with a new group of friends.
In order to win Sunny back, Maple decides to undergo a serious scientific transformation to become fun by 1. Doing extensive research, 2. Applying research to self, and and 3. Repeating until fun. It’s risky and groundbreaking research, but Maple has no choice if she wants to save her friendship.
MY TIDBITS
Middle school drama slams into science, friendship and anxiety in a way which hits home and brings more than a few laughs along the way.
Maple can't wait to meet one of her idols, an astronaut, and is just waiting for her best friend, Sunny, to show up and stand in line with her. Not only is he late but brings someone with him, which derails her entire plans and, worse, marks her as 'unfun'. After that, Sonny seems to be avoiding her, but luckily, a new girl might just be the science partner Maple's been missing...even if she's a little odd. If Maple can keep things together, she might even win the science competition but life has never been easy for Maple and things have a tendency to run out of control.
This is written in diary form with days and very distinct times. There are 'letters' and text exchanges also added in to liven things up and help with the story flow. The amount of text is heavier than I expected but still light enough to slide nicely into the higher side of the chapter book category or low middle grade. Illustrations are heavily sprinkled in, which add to the story and add a little humor too.
The problems surrounding friendships, changing interests, and acceptance create the main messages as Maple steers her way through sixth grade. Her anxiety level is always high and steers her reactions and decisions. To say she's high-strung is almost an understatement. But she's easy to root for and identify with problems, which will ring familiar to the age group. The parents add a supportive foundation with enough quirky attributes to mix with the humor, and the older sister adds relationship difficulties in very unexpected ways. So, there's always something going on. The science adds inspiration, information, and humor to show how interesting it can be.
It's an entertaining tale and mixes heart and humor nicely. The plot pacing did have me skimming at times as Maple loves her drama, and I was more than a little surprised that she wasn't more upset in the beginning when she missed her big opportunity, but it's a fun read and sure to delight fans of Ellie McDoodle and such.
And here they are...
Kate McMillan grew up in Houston, Texas, illustrating and writing stories in the world’s tiniest font. She studied architecture at Yale and boatbuilding in Norway before making her way to Los Angeles to start a career as a concept artist in animation. She has worked for studios including DreamWorks and Disney TV, where she gets to make up worlds every day. In her free time, she enjoys building furniture, scouring the sidewalks of LA for scraps to build said furniture, and drawing wobbly buildings that look like they might fall down.
Ruthie Prillaman is a writer and musician from Potomac, Maryland. After a childhood full of reading books and playing in extremely niche rock bands, Ruthie studied English at Yale and received her MFA in screenwriting from University of Southern California. Since completing her studies, her creative career has spanned theater, documentary, classical music, opera, and film. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she writes for television. Outside of work, she enjoys sewing new clothes, writing music with her brother, and cooking Hungarian goulash in her traditional goulash pot.
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