Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures

[Eriny Youssef]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures" by Catherine A. Pepe.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures is a fiction book for kids that tells one of the stories of two siblings living in Kansas. Mary Grace is Donny's older sister and best friend. Donny has Down's Syndrome, loves marbles, wakes up happy every day, and approaches life with absolute optimism.

In this book, the brother and sister had to move from Kansas to California to stay with their grandparents because their parents had to leave for Africa for two years. The story follows the obstacles and challenges they faced as they changed schools. Not long after they joined their new school, Mary Grace received a letter from an anonymous classmate calling her brother a retard and telling them to go back to where they came from. The novel discusses the nature, consequences, and causes of bullying. It also subtly highlights that the inclusion of people with disabilities as an integral part of our society is now a topic not subject to opinion or debate anymore.

My favorite thing about the book is how it handled bullying. The bully was never highlighted as a pure villain worthy of only hate and punishment. This doesn't mean he was left with no punishment. He was punished but with the correct and suitable punishment that would help him out and make a better person out of him. I believe this is a strong message that was beautifully conveyed through this story. I also liked the familial relationships between the main characters.

There's nothing that I didn't like in this book. There might have been a few instances where repetition occurred and could've been omitted. Examples of those instances would be whenever Mary Grace gave an account of a specific event that happened at school to the Grandma Gang. Other than that, everything was to the point.

I give Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures by Catherine A. Pepe 5 out of 5 stars. I believe the text has been professionally edited as I didn't find any errors in the text. Also, the language used and the structuring of the chapters are suitable for the book's audience.

I recommend this read to teenagers and younger children. It has many lessons that they can benefit from, yet it was told in the form of an interesting novel. So, they will get both the fun and the benefit. Wholesome, heartwarming, and edifying is how I would describe this read.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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