Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures

[Samantha Barnes 3]

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

---

5 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure: A Grandma Gang Mystery, written by Catherine Anna Pepe, is a fun-filled story following the adventures of Mary Grace and her younger brother Donny. After being informed that her parents have to move to Africa for work, Mary Grace's devastation only deepens when she has to leave behind Kansas to move to California to stay with her grandparents.

Even though Mary Grace is happy to be with her grandparents on their farm, she greatly misses her friends and finds adapting to her new school much more challenging than her brother Donny. Just as Mary Grace is beginning to settle into her new class, she becomes the victim of bullying. With the help of her family, friends, and the Grandma Gang, Mary Grace begins her journey to crack the mystery of who is bullying her and why.

I enjoyed the many valuable life lessons incorporated into this story. There were many different characters who were all enduring their own difficulties, but they all learned important lessons that helped them become better friends and people. The author did an excellent job of conveying these lessons through her book without making them too obvious as well. One of my favorite lessons from this story is learning to forgive others who have made bad decisions when they sincerely apologize.

I also loved reading about the Grandma Gang. There were times when Mary Grace faced many unfortunate ordeals that made the story seem sad, but the Grandma Gang made terrific comedic relief. All of the grandmas were so full of energy and wisdom that it was hard not to smile as I read about the shenanigans they got up to in the past.

There was nothing I disliked about this book. The characters were lovable, and the story was so much fun. I was entertained from the beginning to the end. I also found no grammatical errors, as this book was exceptionally well edited.

Due to the reasons listed above, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. This would be an excellent book for young kids, especially middle school students. This book would also be encouraging for any readers who had to move to a new town. I think this would be a great book to have in any classroom.

******
Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon