Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy

Small Medium at Large
Author: Joanne Levy
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: 7-2-12
After she’s hit by lightning at a wedding, twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom develops a new talent: she can hear dead people. Among them, there’s her overopinionated Bubby Dora; a prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a séance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one big fear: talking to—and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with—her crush, Andrew Finkel. – Goodreads

I have a confession to make – this is my first middle grade review.  I don’t read a lot of middle grade, ok I don’t read any middle grade, because I know I will be neck deep in it when my own kids get to that age, but Small Medium at Large was a wonderful and thoughtful story and made me think that I should start reading more of this genre.  Lilah has some big changes going on in her life; her mom is getting remarried, she’s trying to ease her dad back into dating again and, well, the whole lightening strike thing causes her to hear voices of those that have passed.  Her own grandmother aurally appears to her as well as a zany cast of ghosts that will leave you smiling.  There is one scene where Lilah helps a friend talk to his dad that passed away that had me reaching for the tissue. 

I am always looking for books to recommend to the Tweens in my life, and this one will definitely be on my list.  It has a smart and spunky main character with a hilarious inner dialogue and it has a lot of heart.  Small Medium at Large captures the uncertainty of this age so perfectly that I had flashbacks to my own junior high experiences.  Although Lilah’s issue isn’t typical, there is still so much about her life that any 12-13 year old will be able to relate to that this book ends up being a perfect combination of paranormal and contemporary.  I highly recommend it to current (and former) middle schoolers!

This book earned 4 birds:

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Kate

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12 responses to “Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy

  1. Great review, Kate! I just started acquiring MG reads, as I have a niece and a nephew in MG and another nephew that just entered high school. They’re always looking for book recommendations, so I want to be able to point them to something _really_ good. This sounds like a book my niece would love! I’ll be on the look-out for it 🙂

  2. I really enjoyed this book too! i loved Lilah’s dad he was such a fun character!! Awesome review.

    ~Paige @ Comfort Books

    P.S. You can check out my review of this one if you want! it’s up on the blog but it’s easier to find under the review page!

  3. This MG book sounds great! I love reading MG books when the right mood strikes, and this one sounds like a book I should check out.

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