Monday, June 11, 2012

Olivia Bean Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart

Olivia is good at all her subjects except geography.  And she's not just "not good", she's awful!

Delacorte Press sent me a copy of this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

I actually thought reading this book would be boring.  I'm not overly fond of trivia (and I sure am no good at it), so why would this story appeal to me?  Mostly because of Olivia.  

Ms. Gephart makes her a good-natured kid that has a love for trivia and her family.  Her neighbor boy teases her, her Dad has divorced her Mom and moved away with the neighbor woman and her Olivia's best girlfriend, Neil has moved in (and she doesn't want to like him), and she can't have any quiet time to watch Jeopardy anymore.

She's having a hard time adjusting to all the changes, but she's not willing to give up a chance to be on Jeopardy during Kid's Week.  After all, she's 12 this year and that's the oldest you can be to apply. When her Mom loses her job, it's almost the last straw... 

I didn't do real well answering the trivia questions in this book either, but I did enjoy reading it.  Geography wasn't one of my best subjects so I could understand Olivia's pain.

If you have another trivia lover, a wordmaster, or just a child who likes reading about others their age, this a good read for them.  The trauma is downplayed and Olivia learns her family supports her and who really cares about her as she has this adventure.  It's too bad it's not that plain to all of us...

Happy reading.

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