Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

My sister Molly recommended Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. I'll share the summary from the back of the book: "Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again. Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms."

I started this book this morning...and finished it tonight. Such a good book! It had me laughing out loud at parts and was so engaging. I just loved the characters (mainly Aven and Connor) and seeing their struggles and watching their growth throughout the book. It was also great to learn more about Tourette Syndrome (Connor's disability). I just saw that there is a sequel coming out in October, so I'm looking forward to that, especially since I feel like there was kind of an unexpected and odd ending that maybe needed a little more fleshing out for me. I think this would be a great book for Emmeline to read in a year or two.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)