Middle Grade Fiction Review: The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
Title: The Fourteenth Goldfish Author: Jennifer L. Holm Publisher: Random House, 2014. 194 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Summary: Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer. Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far? Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?
My Review: I wasn't quite sure what I thought of this at first. The premise is a little silly, and it kind of put me off by a combination of realistic middle-school issues and this over-the-top science-fiction element. And yet...it works. Halfway through, I just sat down and read the rest, because I did want ...