Grace and Her Dad are the Perfect Team
Just Ask Grace!
Synopsis
After Grace’s mom died, she and her dad grew extra close. They have special nicknames and are always busy with new projects–like building a puppy condo for their dog, Potus–and they love learning random facts about US presidents. Grace thinks her little family of two is perfect.
Then some committee members at church suggest it’s time for Dad to start dating again. And Dad agrees! Grace knows that adding a new member to the team will end in disaster.
No problem! She and her best friend have a plan:
Operation: Stepmom Shake-Up
But what if a little shake-up is exactly what Grace’s family needs?
Details
- Title: The Stepmom Shake-up
- Author: Niki Lenz
- Publisher: Random House Children’s
- Publication Date: June 16, 2020
- Middle Grade ( 8 – 12)
- Pages: 288
My Thoughts
The idea of meddling in a parent’s dating activities feels like a well-used theme. But I decided to go into this book with an open mind. After all, there’s always different twists that can apply to the same subject.
When Grace discovers that her dad is going to start dating, she decides to make sure the dates turn out disastrous, since she’s grown accustomed to the family unit being two people. And she’s not looking forward to the possibility of changing the status quo of Dad and Grace.
So Grace, a feisty 12-year-old, sabotages her dad’s dates in very embarrassing and unkind ways. However, she sees everything as being necessary, and even somewhat hilarious.
In time she realizes that her dad is lonely, so she does an about-face and insists that he date who she has in mind. After all, she has the perfect match. Sadly, Dad is too nervous to ask Olivia, Grace’s teacher and one of his best friends, out on a date.
What Concerned Me
Unfortunately, it didn’t end up being the age-old plot that bothered me, it was the characters. While some children might laugh at Grace’s attempts to sabotage the dates, I felt they were very disrespectful to her dad, who is the pastor of the church where one event took place.
If you’ve noticed how many advertisements on TV have kids telling adults what insurance to buy, what car is best, etc., you’ll understand my next big concern. In time Grace decides her dad should date Olivia. But the problem is that Dad is nervous about asking Olivia, so Grace advises him that it’s time for him to become brave and take a risk. But when he replies that he will be brave since he will do just about anything for Grace, she tells him that he should be brave because it’s what he wants and who he is. He chuckles and says he may need Grace’s help to get Olivia to fall for him.
And in regard to Olivia, in one scene she walks toward Grace and her dad. Grace thought she might be wanting to hug them. Instead, Olivia’s hands fly to her mouth and she “barfs” all over both of them. (Does that sound reasonable that you’d walk toward someone if you were feeling sick?)
And then when Grace, who is by now happy for Olivia to be a possible step-mom, asks her dad to be nice to Olivia, he replies that he’s always nice and he’s letting the lady who puked all over him lie on his couch. (Again, this is supposed to be the pastor of a church. It just doesn’t sound like what an adult might say.) And it pretty much feels like Grace has taken on the parenting role.
Grace gets corrected for almost nothing. As an example, when a toddler that Grace and her friend are watching gets in the diaper bag and pours baby oil all over their kitchen floor, everyone ends up sliding around on it, falling, and laughing, including Dad.
The 12-year-old character that I’m liking less and less also swipes the church van and drives away in it because she’s unhappy. And after all, she’s watched video games so she is sure she can figure out how to drive. Yep, and she ends up hitting a deer.
And throwing rocks at the church’s door because you’re unhappy, I guess that’s the thing to do too. And even referring to her dad as a jerk didn’t really set well with me.
I feel like I should apologize since I’ve never spoken this harshly about any book that I’ve reviewed. And I do hate to ever ever speak poorly about something that an author has put long hours into. But what concerns me more is that this is a book for kids. Kids who are still developing and learning. And even if it was meant to be more of a funny story, I still have too many concerns.
What I Liked Most
I would say the most likable character was Olivia (though she obviously doesn’t know to head to the bathroom if she’s feeling sick). She seemed to be compassionate and understanding. Yet she was still able to be a little stern with Grace. Yes, by far she was my favorite character.
And many young readers will no doubt love Grace’s antics and acting out. Both she and her dad stick their tongues out at each other. Grace’s use of words like barf and snot often appeal to middle grade readers. But I guess what I’m doing here is saying this is what some kids might like, not me.
The ending of the story does make me smile since it’s always good to think a new family unit is heading toward happiness.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Books For Young Readers for this ARC. The review is merely my opinion.
Rating
Better known as “not my cup of tea.”
About the Author
Niki Lenz lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband and children. She studied elementary education at Southwest Baptist University and taught kindergarten for six years. She enjoys reading, travel, glamping, polka dots, red lipstick, and oldies music. She is also the author of Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen. Follow her on Twitter at @NikiRLenz or visit nikilenz.com.
