The Curse of Addy McMahon

Author: Katie Davis

Pages: 256

Published: Greenwillow Books, May 2008

Genre: Middle-grade contemporary fiction

Cover Score: A-

Overall Grade: B+

Summary: Addy McMahon is cursed. Her mother's g-ross boyfriend is moving in, and to make matters in her life worse, she was spotted by her arch nemesis shopping for a bra! Luckily, Addy has her autobiogra-stip to turn to: her graphic diary that she can write all of her secrets in. It's the first step in her dream of becoming a writer. But when her diary gets in the wrong hands, Addy's relationship with her best friend is in danger. Can Addy break the curse before their friendship is O-V-E-R?

My thoughts: The best part of The Curse of Addy McMahon was not the strong, spunky main character. It was not the humorous narration or the realistic dialogue. The best part of this book by far was the original comic strips that make up Addy's "autobiogra-strip", illustrated throughout the novel. Reflecting her life in a fun and creative way, the comic strips broke up the large amount of words and gave the storyline something fresh and unique.

The Curse of Addy McMahon is a fairly simple book. The plot is easy to understand, and Addy is a great, relatable narrator (although a bit whiny at times). Aimed at younger readers, this is just the type of book I would've loved to read in 4-6 grade. There was age-appropriate humor and lots of different situations that Addy goes through that other kids experience: friendship drama, big dreams, the loss of a parent, a remarriage, and setbacks.

However, the book was extremely slow at first, and I started getting bored. Luckily, after the whole Marsha/Jackie ordeal, the book picked up the pace until the end. Also, Addy was slightly annoying at times, as was her pushy mother, who wanted her kids to accept the fact that they needed to move on after their dad's death.

Cute and enjoyable, I would easily recommend The Curse of Addy McMahon to younger readers, and I might even request a copy for my public library, too.

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