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Title: Honey Butter
Author: Millie Florence
Published By: Sprouting Pen Press (2017)
Synopsis: Jamie Johnson is a seven-year-old girl with an annoying older sister, a short attention span, and an odd hobby of collecting paint sample cards. Laren Lark is an almost thirteen-year-old girl with a love of books, a talent for poetry, and a past full of road school adventures. This Book is a whimsical story about what happened to them one fateful summer, with a pound of friendship, a gallon of family, and a ton of everyday joy. (Taken from Goodreads.)
Review:
What a sweet book! The author truly has tremendous talent for pulling the reader right into the setting; we can practically hear Jamie’s flip flops flop or imagine Laren’s excited voice. I was blown away from the first page!
It truly is such a sweet story, too, just a simple but beautiful portrait of a summer from the eyes of a 7 year old—and how genuine and realistic that 7 year old viewpoint is, too! It perfectly captured both Jamie’s enthusiasm and disappointment, as well as her interactions with friends and family. We watch friendships grow and families come closer together, all through the eyes of one little girl and her paintbox of colors. I really thought this was super sweet—I know I keep saying sweet, but it’s really the best word to describe the book
On the flip side, I felt the plot wasn’t as strong as it could have been. A mostly character-driven story, I really only kept reading because I liked Jamie, not because of what was going on. And granted, there are plenty of books that can completely pull this off. I just thought that in this case, a little more overaching storyline to knot it all together would have produced a stronger story. Sure, there were small side things that happened and dramatic events along the way; but there was no overarching plot pulling it altogether, and that unfortunately left the book feeling a little too scattered, in my opinion.
Overall, though, it was a truly exceptional story, even if lacking a bit in the plot area; it was full of living, breathing characters embarking on radical adventures. I was blown away by the amazing ability of the author and I recommend this book to anyone and everyone!
Negative Content/Notes:
None.
Overall:
A truly exceptional story, if lacking a little bit in the plot area, full of live characters and fun adventures.
Rating: 4.0
Recommended to: Anyone and everyone!