The Exceptional Maggie Chowder

by Renee Beauregard Lute (Author) Luna Valentine (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
Twelve-year-old aspiring forest ranger Maggie Chowder wants to be just like her favorite comic superhero, the Exceptional Eagirl. So when her dad loses his job and her family moves from a house to a small apartment, Maggie is determined to make the most of her new circumstances. But it's not always easy to be strong like Eagirl when her best friend LaTanya gets to move into a big house and get a puppy because her dad has been recruited to coach for the Seattle Seahawks. It's especially not easy when nitpicky, comic-book-hating Grandma Barrel comes to stay.
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School Library Journal

Gr 4 Up--This is the story of Maggie Chowder, who longs to be just like her favorite superhero, the Exceptional Eagirl. When her best friend leaves for a month in the summer, Maggie assumes nothing new will happen to either of them and cannot wait for her friend to return. Little does she know that both of their worlds are about to shift. This novel is all about change. Readers will empathize with the upheaval of Maggie's life when her father loses his job and they have to move from their large home to an apartment. While this novel speaks to change, it also spotlights the power of platonic and familial relationships . Maggie must find a way to support her dad in his new job, her brother in his new learning environment, and her best friend in her new life as a professional football coach's daughter. She must also learn how to bring joy to her life amidst everything going on around her. The addition of the Eagirl comics at the start of each chapter is sure to attract readers of graphic novels, as well as introduce them to new readers. VERDICT A heartwarming, funny story about family and friends; a worthy addition to middle-grade collections.--Tegan Anclade, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

In Renton, Wash., summer brings unexpected challenges to 12-year-old Maggie: her father loses his job and gets work acting on a low-budget web series, her mother takes a grocery store job, and the family sells their home to move to a "cozy" apartment near the grocer's, where Maggie shares a room with her four-year-old brother Aaron, who is autistic. The arrival of her opinionated, comics-hating grandmother only makes things worse, as does Maggie's best friend, LaTanya Richards, moving into a larger home courtesy of her father's new job coaching the Seattle Seahawks. Despite the upheaval, Maggie is determined to follow the example of her comic book idol, fearless superhero Eagirl, and to become a forest ranger, just like Eagirl. When opportunity arises to attend Seattle Comic Con and compete for a chance to attend Forest Ranger Camp, Maggie begins to see that maybe things aren't all bad. Lute's narrative sensitively portrays Aaron's autism, Maggie's mixed feelings about her new home, and her frustration with changes beyond her control, while interspersed Eagirl comics by Valentine bring readers a glimpse of the feminist ranger hero whom Maggie hopes to become. Ages 9-12. (Oct.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Empathetic, realistic, and very enjoyable."—Kirkus Reviews

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780807536780
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Albert Whitman & Company
Publication date
October 01, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV071000 - Juvenile Fiction | Superheroes
Library of Congress categories
Families
Family life
Comic books, strips, etc
Moving, Household
Autism
Change (Psychology)
Autism in children

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