Monday, November 7, 2022

Happy Book Birthday, Daisy Woodworm Changes the World by Melissa Hurt

 It's Happy Birthday time! I might be a little-bit early, since this comes out tomorrow, but I do love celebrating whenever I can. This book is a contemporary read, which hits on several themes such as bullying. I've seen it around a lot during the last months and was curious if it was as good as it seemed to be.

So, let's take a look!


DAISY WOODWORM CHANGES THE WORLD 
by Melissa Hurt
Jolly Fish Publishers
Middle Grade Contemporary
288 pages
ages 8 to 12


COMING...
TOMORROW!!!





When her social studies teacher assigns each student a project to change the world for the better along with an oral report, Daisy fears the class bully—who calls her Woodworm— will make fun of her lisp. Still, she decides to help Sorrel fulfill his dream of becoming a YouTube fashion celebrity despite their parents’ refusal to allow him on social media.

With the help of her best friend Poppy, and Miguel—the most popular boy in school and her former enemy—Daisy launches Sorrel’s publicity campaign. But catastrophe strikes when her parents discover him online along with hateful comments from a cyberbully.

If Daisy has any hope of changing the world, she’ll have to regain her family’s trust and face her fears of public speaking to find her own unique and powerful voice.

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59656807-daisy-woodworm-changes-the-world
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WPTB9P1
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/?ean=9781631636370
BOOK DEPOSITORY: https://www.goodreads.com/book/59656807-daisy-woodworm-changes-the-world


MY TIDBITS

With tons of heart, this book rotates around a wonderful, sibling relationship, determination and working together.

Daisy's life has been tough since her mother lost her job and both parents have decided to start their own company cleaning up after dogs. While she still has track and her best friend, she doesn't have much free time outside of chores and helping her family with other things. When her older brother wants to dive into his hobby of fashion on the internet, past cyber-bullying issues cause her parents to shut the idea down before it even gets started. But Daisy will do almost anything to help her brother achieve his dreams, especially when a class project gives her the perfect excuse.

Daisy is a character to root for and identify with from the very first page. Her love for her brother and her willingness to do whatever she can to meet her goals is inspiring. She has a good moral compass, is compassionate, empathetic and simply a nice person...although she does rebel against her parents a little bit. But then, the parent-child relationship and how her parents deal with things isn't my favorite aspect, anyway. Daisy might only be an eighth grader, but she needs to carry quite a bit of responsibility...which also makes her come across often older than she is.

The tale, characters and situations are well-laid out and do connect on an emotional level. While the pacing was slower than I enjoy, every step is well laid out and comes across naturally. Themes such as Down Syndrome, having a lisp, bullying, jealousy, and financial hardship are all addressed in an age appropriate manner and bring food for thought.

1 comment:

Heather said...

It sounds like an excellent book for middle graders.