"The Mighty Quinn" by Robyn Parnell

About the book:  Quinn Andrews-Lee feels anything but mighty, and faces a dismal school year. His little sister outshines him athletically and socially, he yearns for a service award his peers disdain, and charismatic bigot Matt Barker's goal in life is to torment Quinn and lure his friends to the dark side. When Quinn reports an act of vandalism, he is accused of injuring Matt. Neally Standwell, a free-spirited new kid in Quinn's class, helps Quinn deduce who hurt Matt, but Matt would probably die—and would definitely lie—before admitting the truth.

Through events comical and poignant Quinn and Neally solve the right mystery just as everything seems to go wrong, thwart a bully without becoming one in turn, and realize that the fabled ability to belch the entire alphabet might very possibly trump any award ever presented at Turner Creek School.

Review:  The Mighty Quinn by Robyn Parnell is a delightful story of life in the fifth grade.  This story is filled with the daily happenings at school from making new friends to dealing with tough relationships that have haunted you for years.

In this story the main character Quinn learns to deal with difficulties that come with being the target of a bully as well as the excitement of making a new friend.  Twists and turns lead us through many circumstances and lead Quinn to grow and mature much as he deals with each situation. Overall a delightful story filled with great questions at the end to help facilitate discussion of some very relevant topics for fifth graders to think about and talk over.  I was a little concerned with the handling of religion and the fact that the boy with the biggest problems was the son of a family that was religious.   This could potentially open up lots of questions that should be primarily handled by parents and I trust that the children reading this book would indeed take those questions to their parents.

The book was a fun read and the characters were well developed and believable.  I really liked the way Community service was woven into the fabric of the story and how that Quinn was so excited to take part in such activities. I loved the illustrations.  They added to the atmosphere my mind created as I read the story.  (rev. C.Delorge)


DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Scarletta Junior Readers for the purpose of this review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. No compensation was received for this review.