Mallory on the Move

Mallory on the Move by Laurie Friedman

Why I like Mallory:

       1.      She loves her cat.

       2.      She has a cat-a-day calendar.

       3.      She and her best friend say things in threes to show they are stylish.

       4.      She and her best friend paint their toenails the same color.

5.      Her best friend throws her a “Blue-without-you” going away party.

6.      She likes to make wishes.

7.      She likes to dangle her feet in the pond.

8.      She wants to learn how to skateboard.

9.      She doesn’t like boring houses that all look alike.

Why I don’t like Mallory:

1.      She tells jokes – bad jokes.

2.      She wastes 1 carton of orange juice, 2 cans of grape soda, 3 cups of chocolate milk, 4 spoonsful of tomato sauce, and 5 drops of blue food coloring to make Joke Juice.

3.      She has a mean big brother. Her next door neighbor also has a mean older sibling.

4.      She gets rewarded with food when she is meant to be punished.

5.      She can climb into her best friend’s window.

6.      Her cat’s name is Cheeseburger.

7.      She plays pranks – an unforgiveable prank in my opinion at one point.

8.      She and her best friend’s favorite game would not happen in my house unsupervised.

9.      She runs away from home.

There really are only so many beginning chapter books you can read before they all start to look alike. That is those of the contemporary realistic fiction variety. Another second grader who must be distinguishable from other second graders and yet display stereotypical characteristics of your average second grader. I have my very own second grader who happens to be a year younger than Mallory. And I certainly see similarities: the love of cats and bad jokes. And the differences: my daughter would never concoct in my kitchen without my permission.

I read this book thinking, will my daughter enjoy it? Probably. Do I want her to read it? Possibly not. Am I a spoil sport? Certainly. She will love it for the very reasons that I do. She will not notice that Mallory is rewarded with McDonald’s in an effort to perk her up after the Joke Juice fiasco. In fact, she will probably identify with it. How many times have I bribed her with a Happy Meal to purchase a smile? Do I think she would actually attempt to run away from home? I hope not. This book has a happy ending though. If she tried it, it might not. Why put the thought in her head in the first place?

This book is fine as far as books go. I am just looking for more than fine. I am always looking for magic. Like Waiting for the Magic. That was a special book dealing with a special topic – a parents’ separation. Mallory on the Move is about a girl who is forced by her parents to move away from her home and her very best friend. And she doesn’t handle it very well. I bet I can find a book that handles it better.

This book was a Monarch Nominee in 2006.