The Great Hamster Massacre
by Katie Davies
Nine year old Anna and her little brother, Tom, desperately want a hamster.
Nanna, who lives with the family, explains the reasons why their mom won't let them have a hamster.
Their mom, in her younger years, accidently "lost" two hamsters of her own.
But after Nanna passes away, Mom decides to let Anna and Tom have two hamsters.
A new hamster chapter has begun.
What mom didn't expect was hamster babies.
And a hamster massacre.
Anna and Tom put on their private detective hats, using neighborhood connections, to get to the bottom of the story.
When I picked up this story I expected a goofy, light hearted story about hamsters. What I got was a goofy, light hearted story about hamsters that included the topics of death, loss and adult relationships. It was realistic in the fuzzy situations that life brings, told from a 9 year old point of view--which made it funny and understandable.
Depending on approach of loss, recommend to lower to middle grades.
Add me to the list of thousands who are in love with "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.
I should preface this by stating I waited to read this story. I saw it's popularity ride through blogs, book circulation and friends who loved it also. I waited, like I wait to read most popular books, because I wanted to read it without the hoopla, without the anticipation of thumbs up or thumbs down.
But really that was a silly notion for this book. I'm just glad I didn't wait any longer.
The story centers around two teens, Hazel and Augustus, who meet at a Cancer Support Group. Hazel knows eventually cancer will kill her and Augustus lost his leg before remission. They are intelligent. Witty. And as you watch the two of them fall in love, the reader--or at least myself--fell in love with them too.
On the dramatic side--this book completes itself. It is a 360* with the characters, the story and the language. It is how we want to be loved and how we wish we could love, no matter the age. And the reader accepts what these teens know about life, because we assume if faced with death, we also would live this fully and freely...knowing living tends to get in the way.
And because people always ask, yes I did cry.
