Review: Always, Abigail by Nancy J. Cavanaugh

Always, Abigail

Author: Nancy J. Cavanaugh

Series: -

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Pages: 320

Amazon – TBD

Release date: 5^th August 2014

Middle Grade

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Discover Abigail's triumphant story of friendship told through heart-touching letters and lists

Abigail and her two best friends are poised for a life of pom-poms and popularity. But not only does Abigail end up in a different homeroom, she doesn't make the squad. Then everyone's least favorite teacher pairs Abigail up with the school's biggest outcast, Gabby Marco, for a year-long "Friendly Letter Assignment." Abigail can hardly believe her bad luck. As her so-called best friends and entire future of popularity seems to be slipping away, Abigail has to choose between the little bit of fame she has left or letting it go to be a true friend.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

Sixth grade to-do list:

•Make the pom-pom squad!
•Get photo in the yearbook
•With Alli and Cami, become the three most popular girls at Crestdale Heights Middle School!

Always, Abigail with its eye-catching cover and true to life story is a book that kept me and the kids entertained at reading time each night. With witty text and a realistic storyline, it was great to share this book with my children.

Abigail reminded me of myself back in school; she has been friends with Alli and Cami since kindergarten but in year six they are placed in separate homerooms and things begin to change, their friendship is evolving and not in the best of ways.

Abigail luck seems to go from bad to worse when her dreams of being a pom pom girl are washed away when she isn’t accepted but that isn’t her only problem, she has also been paired with the schools outcast, Flabby Gabby for an assignment.

Abigail was a believable character, she tried to remain optimistic throughout her dilemmas but it didn’t come without drama and some confusion. Her story is told through letters and her obsession with lists – something I can also relate to, I’m a big list girl. The side characters were written well, I especially liked Gabby and her positivity.

I read this out loud to my 7 year old daughter and 9 year old son and they both enjoyed the story of friendships and struggles which we all at some stage seem to experience throughout our schooling years. This book was written very well and is one I highly recommend.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Jabberwocky via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Always, Abigail.

  

About the author: Nancy J. Cavanaugh lives in Florida with her husband and her daughter. This Journal Belongs to Ratchet is her first book, but she has been writing for almost twenty years.

Like her main character, Nancy is pretty handy with a ratchet and is able to take apart a small engine and put it back together. 

In addition to her mechanic's hat, Nancy has been an elementary and middle school teacher as well as a library media specialist. One of her favorite parts of writing for children is being able to say "I'm working" when reading middle grade novels.