By Haven Kimmel
Illustrated by Peter Brown
Ages 7 and up
Published by Atheneum
The synopsis on the book cover is very misleading, so here is my own:
"Barely" seven-year-old Kaline's life has been turned upside down. His father abruptly leaves home, completely upending Kaline's routine -but imaginative- life, his mother is seriously distracted, and he's being bullied by three classmates. He seeks solace in his next-door-neighbor and in imagining an enormous tree house, where his imaginary two older brothers live with their race car, motorcycle and one hundred puppies.
The story is written from Kaline's perspective, complete with seven-year-old language, chaotic thoughts, and DRAMA -which is reflected in the use of capitalized words. Though hard to read sometimes, the writing style really reflects Kaline's "voice" and thoughts and understanding.
There are some tough issues that Kaline grapples with in this relatively short story: bullies, an OCD father, a different kind of life without his father, and divorce. And while it took me a little to get into Kaline's "voice", in the end I enjoyed the book and have been thinking about it all day.
I borrowed this book from the library.
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