Trudy by Jessica Lee Anderson

[KWill20]

This book is a great read for middle schoolers, as they will find it very relatable and it will resonate with them for a long time.

Trudy stars a young girl named Trudy. Her life is anything but ordinary- as she faces the difficulties of losing her friends and transitioning from elementary school to middle school, there is something that is somehow making it all worse: her parents. Ma and Pa are into their late 60's and 70's, and Trudy hates how people assume they are her grandparents. Trudy never thought of their age as a life changing issue until Pa is constantly forgetting small things and acting strange. Soon, Ma and Trudy discover that Pa has Alzheimer's disease. This novel tells the story of Trudy facing normal middle school issues, like developing crushes on boys and handling flaky friends. But more importantly, it shows Tracy and her family somehow successfully coming together and living through the deep stages of a deadly disease, and living through a remarkably emotional rollercoaster.

I really liked this book. When I bought the book I was expecting to read a book about a girl and her life filled with unnecessary drama, but it was so much more than that. It was about a teenage girl, but it was more about the unconditional love that is found within a family, and I thought that was a breath of fresh air. All in all I think the themes and writing of this book is mature for the average middle schooler, but I feel like they will enjoy it either way. Trudy is very bright and compassionate, and I think she has a lot of great thoughts. Her parents made me giggle at times and they actually reminded me a lot of my own parents. Both Ma and Pa were happy, humble and kind to others. All of the characters had their own distinctive voice, which is really important in a story like this one.

Anderson's writing captures the middle schooler's emotions (happiness, disgust, teenage angst,) quite wonderfully. Although this story was touching, I did feel that at time's Anderson went a little off topic and that she had a hard time keeping up her own writing style. But all together I thought she did great on this story, and if I read it in middle school, I know it would of been a book that stuck with me. I give it 4/5 stars.