Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Friday, December 29, 2017

Kat Greene Comes Clean by Melissa Roske

How I Heard About It:  I was lucky enough to receive this book from the author herself.  I brought it to the classroom right away, had a few readers read it, and then brought it home with me to read over Christmas break.  I just finished it earlier today.  

What It Is About:  Kat Greene has a lot to deal with.  She lives with her mother in New York City.  Her father lives on the other end of the city with his new wife and their young son.  Kat is happy sharing the city apartment with her mom.  Kat begins to notice that her mother's behavior is changing.  She is spending more time in the apartment and starting to exhibit some "odd" behavior.  Kat decides to keep this information from her father, her best friend, and the counselor at school.  The more her mother's behavior shows itself, the more Kat isn't sure what to do.  While keeping all this "stuff" to herself, she has to deal with a school project, a best friend that is "obsessed" with a boy, and figuring out her role in two families.  

What I Thought Of It:  For some reason, I thought this was going to be a "light" and "funny" story.  I'm not sure why I thought this, but I was surprised to find out this wasn't the premise of the story.  There were many important and difficult themes presented in the story, but done in such a thoughtful and graceful way.  Kat Greene was a unique, strong, and "real" character.  The plot moved along at a perfect pace with a few surprises along the way.  I appreciated that the emotional "issues" were presented in a real and authentic way.  There were an appropriate amount of light moments surrounding the "tougher" real-life problems that Kat had to deal with.  

Who Should Read It:   For any child that is dealing with a parent that struggles with any type of mental illness, this would be the perfect novel to put in their hands.  It isn't overly heavy, but deals with topic of OCD in a way that middle-grade readers could understand and appreciate.  The book could be handled by a fourth, fifth, or sixth grade reader.  I think it could also be read by middle-school readers.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  5 STARS out of 5 Stars

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