Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures

[Triciat50]

[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 by Catherine Anna Pepe is part of a three-book series called The Grandma Gang Mysteries. I am always looking for interesting books to share with my grandnieces, and this book really impressed me. The author tackles several topics that are relevant to children in a respectful and intelligent manner. Ms. Pepe does not talk down to her young readers.

Mary Grace and her five-year-old brother Donny, who has Down syndrome, live in Kansas with their parents. Mary Grace is in sixth grade when her parents find out that they have been assigned by their church to a missionary post in Africa for two years, and she and Donny are going to be living with their grandparents in California while they are gone. The author writes very realistically about how upsetting this move is to Mary Grace, who must leave her friends and transition to a new school. Donny adapts well to his new class, but Mary Grace has a tougher time. Just as she is starting to settle in and make friends, a series of bullying incidents at school occur involving Donny’s disability. The rest of the book revolves around how Mary Grace copes with this problem and finds a resolution.

The Grandma Gang consists of the children’s Grandma Cathy, and her two friends La Shana and Elizabeth. They had previously solved a mystery together (that is summarized in this book and is very funny), and Mary Grace asks the three retired grandmas to help her resolve her problem. They prove to be a reliable source of ideas and support for Mary Grace.

What impressed me most is how the author dealt with emotions of the children in the story with honesty and empathy. Things happen in life that make you sad or angry, and these are legitimate feelings. The author does not ignore or belittle these feelings but shows young readers that it is okay to feel this way and comes up with some solutions. I was also impressed with the chapters that included the reactions of the teachers and administration at the school to the bullying incident.

I do not have any negative comments about the book. There is no language that would be inappropriate for the age level the book is targeted toward. The story moves along well, and it is fun to read.

I rate Donny and Mary Grace’s California Adventures five out of five stars. The book was very well edited, and I did not find any typographical or grammatical errors. I recommend this book for older children and younger teenagers. Although the age recommendation is ages six through twelve years old, I think this would be too advanced for a child of six or seven to read on their own. This would be an enjoyable book for a parent or guardian to read to younger children, in order to explain some of the more difficult topics along the way. This is a book that elementary school teachers could use to show how harmful bullying can be.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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[Kavita Shah]

I just finished reading this book and can't agree more with what you've written. Catherine has portrayed real life emotions of children, and written very realistic scenarios. Thank you for a lovely review Tricat50!

[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

I admire how the school resolved the issue of bullying in this book. Mary Grace was smart and a "mystery resolver". Also, Donny was adorable and lively, which makes the book light and joyful to read. Your review is wonderful!

[Hee Via]

To be honest, moving away from a place you have become comfortable in is really hard sometimes as in the case of MaryGrace. I most definitely understand how hard it must be for her to adopt to this new life away from her friends and school. I would love to know how she navigates her life from here.