Weekly Reads: Absolutely Almost

I received an e-ARC of Absolutely Almost in exchange for an honest review of the book. I had previously read A Tangle of Knots by Graff and wasn't as blown away as I expected to be (it does have one of my favorite covers of 2013 though! I'm always sold with a hot air balloon!). I absolutely (<--see what I did there) adored this one though. The story is about Albie. Albie's abilities in school are below average, but his heart and spirit more than make up for it. He befriends the one girl in his new school that no one is nice to, Betsy, who has a terrible stutter. His nanny, Calista, is able to help him see that he does have gifts and talents. It was truly an enjoyably read.

However, I was a little.... weirded out?.... by the book's cover.

Anyone? Bueller?










My rating: 4 stars

Summary from goodreads: 

Albie has never been the smartest kid in his class. He has never been the tallest. Or the best at gym. Or the greatest artist. Or the most musical. In fact, Albie has a long list of the things he's not very good at. But then Albie gets a new babysitter, Calista, who helps him figure out all of the things he is good at and how he can take pride in himself.

A perfect companion to Lisa Graff's National Book Award-nominated A Tangle of Knots, this novel explores a similar theme in a realistic contemporary world where kids will easily be able to relate their own struggles to Albie's. Great for fans of Rebecca Stead's Liar and Spy, RJ Palacio's Wonder and Cynthia Lord's Rules.