2024 the best worst thing review

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(as of Dec 22, 2024 21:31:08 UTC - Details)

Front door locked, kitchen door locked, living room windows closed. Nobody in the closet, nobody under the beds.

Still, Maggie is worried. Ever since she started middle school, she sees injustice and danger everywhere--on the news, in her textbooks, in her own neighborhood. Even her best friend seems to be changing.

Maggie believes it is up to her, and only her, to make everything all right. Can she come up with a plan to keep everyone safe?

The Best Worst Thing is a perceptive novel about learning the limits of what you can control, and the good--sometimes even best--things that can come of finally letting go.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (February 20, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316257826
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316257824
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12 years, from customers
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1 x 7.63 inches
Reviewer: elizabeth s
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: For anyone who's ever been afraid, i.e. everyone!
Review: This is such a beautifully honest, touching and emotionally true book that i would recommend it to any adult who loves literature as well as to middle school age children. Lane manages to bring us so close to the emotional struggle of young Maggie that it's impossible not to feel her pain. At the same time, she is such a dear and sympathetic character that we can easily identify and root for her. Maggie is an anxious young girl, worried about so many things and imagining that her strategies will keep her and her family safe. We can assume she struggles with OCD (though this is never named directly) but Lane has such deep insight in to the universal human struggles and insecurities that i think anyone could relate to the painful, lonely place where Maggie often finds herself. Lane's writing style is, on the one hand, simple but this only adds to the profound effect. Her writing is poetic and unique; literary and, at the same time, accessible. Highest praise for this deeply moving and gorgeously written book.

Reviewer: JJ Rothenberg
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great for Kids Ready to Face their Fears
Review: I read The Best Worst Thing after my anxious 10-year old completed it so that we would have a common reference point for discussing her “worry thoughts.” The main character, Maggie, is delightfully empathetic, yet OCD-anxious about all the scary and potentially scary things in her life. That was enough to get me hooked. While the story isn’t predominantly plot-driven, it is so skillfully woven together, and in such a poetically rhythmic fashion that the reader keeps wanting to turn the page.I wish there had been books like The Best Worst Thing when I was in middle school decades ago. Having relatable characters like Maggie makes anxiety thoughts acceptable to those who have them as well as understandable to those who don’t. For this I thank the author, and I look forward to unpacking the themes and nuggets of this book with my daughter in the weeks to come.I recommend this book for kids who are at the verge of knowing that scary things happen in the world, and who need a reminder that it’s possible to summon one’s courage even when quivering inside.

Reviewer: Kate Unger
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Eye-opening read for anyone without anxiety
Review: I enjoyed this book. Maggie is starting middle school. She is dealing with normal things: social hierarchy at a new school, friends who are interested in make up and clothes, her siblings (one younger, one older), the tension between her parents, etc. But at the same time she has extreme anxiety. A murderer has been spotted in the neighborhood, and she's convinced he's going to come and kill her family. A boy in her class who lives two houses over is rumored to be getting a gun for his 12th birthday, so she imagines him as the killer. It was very interesting to see her anxiety play out as if these things really happen. Maggie has to repeat mantras (almost like prayers) in her head each night to keep bad things from happening.There is not a whole lot of plot. The book just chronicles the day to day happenings. But I was kind of fascinated with this insight into an anxious mind. I really loved all of the true-to-age bits, such as the notes being passed at school and her best friend starting to wear lipstick. It was a very honest and real depiction of that awkward age. I think it would be a very relate-able read for kids in middle school.[...]

Reviewer: PortlandMama
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Best Worst Thing is a gripping story about the very ...
Review: The Best Worst Thing is a gripping story about the very likable Maggie who is entering middle school this year. There are so many facets of this story that are, both, spot on middle school life and give vivid insight into the experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Maggie is a middle child, entering middle school and experiencing all the shifts in relationships that go along with it. She is thrown into a world of social dynamics that she is figuring out on the fly. The reader watches her take it all in with a keen eye, making sense of her environment and her place in it. The story is told in 1st person which I love because it makes Maggie so believable and real.As if entering middle school wasn't enough, Maggie is also very anxious. Her anxieties increase as the story continues and you feel her compulsion to engage in nightly rituals in an effort to keep herself and her family safe amidst a frightening event that has taken place in her community.As a mental health therapist, I am in awe of Lane's ability to get inside Maggie's internal world in such a realistic and poignant way. She brilliantly and accurately paints a living portrait of a girl struggling with a mind that tends toward extreme worry. A very challenging feat and masterfully accomplished. I hope there is a sequel coming so we can know Maggie as she grows up!

Reviewer: Noelle Harmon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: This is a Keeper!
Review: Kathleen Lane is a very talented author who has a knack for capturing the purity and truth of life in the very fragile years of a middle school girl. Who of us hasn't been overly worried, to the point of being obsessive about friends, feelings, other's impressions of us, or whether we are normal? Although most people would go through this stage of life thinking they are weird and others are normal, the truth is that everyone has insecurities. Sometimes, in the midst of our worst fears, a beautiful, normal life shines through. We then can relax a little and try to worry less. Kathleen does a beautiful job illustrating this period of life, which will be a comfort to all boys and girls, as well as their parents who survive the middle school years. I would highly recommend this book and anything else written by this woman!