Book Review: Chocolate-Covered Baloney

Though written for a young adult audience, as a 30-something I eagerly awaited the release of Chocolate Covered Baloney. The protagonist, April Grace, is smart, witty and wise for her age – I enjoy her sense of humor and ability to tell it like it is. Middle school is an exasperating time for anyone and April Grace demonstrates how it can be handled with humor, heartache and a fair amount of well-intentioned spunk.

In this third book in the series, April Grace is facing more changes. Her family has welcomed a brand-new baby, her beloved grandmother has a new boyfriend and someone unexpected shows up in a very un-subtle blast-from-the-past. On top of all that, April Grace’s older sister is acting very sneaky and no one will listen to April Grace when she once again (correctly) insists that something is wrong Myra Sue.

I liked the storyline about the unexpected visitor, who turns out to be April Grace’s other grandmother. The author does a good job of developing this character over the course of the story and creates a more believable plot line by not making her return to the family an instant happy ending.

One element I like about this book (and the series) is that it is not set in a time-specific period. It appears to be set sometime in the late 80s/early 90s, but it’s hard to tell. I like the non-specific timing because it enables to reader to identify with the characters, rather than the time period. For example, when Myra Sue goes missing, the family can’t check her Facebook page or cell phone records for clues to where she went.

I enjoyed this book as a quick, light-hearted read, and would definitely recommend it for the young adult (tween) audience it is intended for.

I received this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.