Simply West of Heaven

 

Twelve-year-old BFFs are matchmaking geniuses. Sweet! Not long after they schemed to get Ginnie’s widowed dad to fall in love with Tillie’s divorced mom, Ginnie stumbled upon her late mom's journals, making life even more awesome sauce … until her dad confiscated the journals, determined to protect Ginnie from a danger he won’t name.Ginnie is counting on her future sister's help to make Dad change his mind, but Tillie's not so sure the ghost of Ginnie's mom will make a good addition to their new family tree. The girls' world gets flipped upside-down when a blast from the past shows up and makes Tillie go nutburgers. Ginnie is torn between helping her best friend and what could be the answer to her deepest wish.

My thoughts: I was hopeful that this series would be something that my daughter and I could read together, but found that it deals with topics that are a little more mature that we are ready for. That said, she isn't in middle school yet, which is the age group that these books are geared towards. I think that Monique Bucheger does a great job of tackling some of the difficult topics that middle schoolers deal with, like divorced parents, secrets, and bullying, to name a few.

I like that this story starts to bring the series full circle, with Ginnie starting to get some answers on why her dad doesn't want her reading her mom's journals. I feel for both Ginnie and her dad as they navigate their grief over losing her mom too soon (though, years before this series starts). I also sympathize with Tillie and her insecurities about their new relationships. This is a lovely series to pick up and enjoy!

I received this book from Just Read. This is my honest review and is in no way influenced by receiving a complimentary copy.

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