I don't read a lot of older MG, but this one I LOVED as hard as my favorite YAs. The ending was a little forced, but overall I loved reading about Noah and his 2 best friends, their quirky school, and of course Curly.

I don't really read older MG, but when I saw that Jo Knowles had a new book I really wanted to read it no matter what age group it involved. What I learned was, I LOVE reading about MG boys!! If they're all like Noah, Ryan, and Sam, I could read about them non-stop. They're so funny and self-conscious, and just how I would picture boys going through that awkward age range would be.

My Fave Parts: The friendship between the boys. It wasn't 3 Musketeers-- they got on each other's nerves, they fought, they ignored each other.... but when it really came down to it, they had each other's backs. And there were a few moments between Noah and Ryan that warmed my heart because I think they fell out of the typical boy friendship "rules" (you know-- where you can't hug each other, sleep in the same bed at sleepovers, do nice things like buy presents for each other-- and other stupid stuff males do to act like they aren't emotional beings). I also LOVED the school they went to. It was quirky and non-traditional, and I kind of wish I went to a school like that. Also they had a cat at the school!! And it was allowed to just wander and do it's own thing!! Okay, I'm not really a fan of hairless cats, but how could I not love Curly and her outfits that changed everyday?? I spent most of the book terrified that for some reason Curly would have to leave the school... I just loved her so much, I wanted her to stay!!

I thought this book was adorably cute while also being serious when it needed to be. And I would put this up there with my favorite YA Contemporary books. Only thing is.... I felt the ending was kind of forced. I mean there's this big ISSUE that happens, and Noah and his family kind of go through some major breakdowns, and then it seemed like nothing really changed except Noah decided "Okay, I'm done with it". I didn't really care for that especially since his parents (you know, the ones who should be setting the example) were not coping well and NOT fixing it. But other than that bit of glossing over, I really found this unputdownable.

PS-- I totally have my kid saying "Who's to say?" whenever someone asks him about something (it's what Ryan says to his teachers when he doesn't want to answer a question).

OVERALL: LOVED reading Middle Grade from Jo Knowles. I knew if I stuck it out with this author it would pay off. I love this one and [b:Read Between the Lines|22747804|Read Between the Lines|Jo Knowles|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1415065698s/22747804.jpg|42292740]. It's so readable, adorable, cute, funny, but also about some heavier issues. I would recommend this to anyone for pretty much any reason.

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Noah attends a small school in the US that has, among other things, a resident school cat and a suggestion box. There are always tensions between him and his very different best friends sam and Ryan, and this year it seems to be girls that are causing the friction. On top of this, Noah is noticing things about his older sister Emma that make him very fearful about the possible future - will the family be thrust back into the "Thing They Don't Talk About" again, and if so, will he be left feeling like his opinion doesn't count like the last time.
A very true to life school story with a family mystery twist and quite realistic conversations between Noah and his mates.
Loved the part with the cat, and the portrayal of various teachers like The Tank. One for Middle school students. ( )

This is four stars only because it's a hard sell, I think. The first half cracked me up, all alone on my couch (lots of juvenile fart jokes, but really funny juvenile fart jokes). The second half gets intense in a way that doesn't have a neat resolution, because anorexia often doesn't. I'm not sure how easy it will be to pitch such a tonally split book. But I'm going to try, because I loved it!

Like [b:Because of Mr. Terupt|7783920|Because of Mr. Terupt|Rob Buyea|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320456974s/7783920.jpg|10714283], but only one point of view, and less neat at the end... a sense of humor like [b:The Strange Case of Origami Yoda|7150174|The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Origami Yoda, #1)|Tom Angleberger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441744261s/7150174.jpg|7415356] but with that shift to a serious illness story halfway through... like [b:Goodbye Stranger|23615709|Goodbye Stranger|Rebecca Stead|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439670673s/23615709.jpg|43219487] or even more like [b:Counting Thyme|25938399|Counting Thyme|Melanie Conklin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441722559s/25938399.jpg|40734627], but funnier... like [b:Winger|11861815|Winger (Winger, #1)|Andrew Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1367927656s/11861815.jpg|16818567] but for younger kids, not ungodly long, and without a use of a gay character that pissed me off... I don't know. ( )

Noah is just trying to make it through seventh grade. The girls are confusing, the homework is boring, and even his friends are starting to bug him. Not to mention that his older sister, Emma, has been acting pretty strange, even though Noah thought she'd been doing better ever since the Thing They Don't Talk About. The only place he really feels at peace is in art class, with a block of clay in his hands. As it becomes clear through Emma's ever-stricter food rules and regulations that she's not really doing better at all, the normal seventh-grade year Noah was hoping for begins to seem pretty unattainable.

What a wonderful insight into the minds of middle school boys. As a mother of three girls, I enjoyed the conversations, friendships and trials & tribulations on these kids. The viewpoint of the eating disorder from a young teen's perspective was presented realistically. I liked that the resolution is ongoing and not abruptly cured. I'm hoping my own 8th grader will enjoy this as much as I did. ( )