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    The Fourteenth Goldfish
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    The Fourteenth Goldfish
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    The Fourteenth Goldfish
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Fourteenth Goldfish

    Written by Jennifer L. Holm

    Narrated by Georgette Perna

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Believe in the possible . . . with this "warm, witty, and wise" New York Times bestselling novel from three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm. A perfect Father's Day read about a child's relationship with her grandfather!
     
    Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer.
    Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?
     
    Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He's bossy. He's cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie's grandfather, a scientist who's always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?
     
    With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinating questions about life and death, family and friendship, immortality . . . and possibility.


    "Warm, witty and wise"-The New York Times

    "Awesomely strange and startlingly true-to-life. It makes you wonder what's possible." -- Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me

    SUNSHINE STATE AWARD FINALIST!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 26, 2014
    ISBN9780804193818
    Unavailable
    The Fourteenth Goldfish
    Author

    Jennifer L. Holm

    Jennifer L. Holm is the New York Times bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish. Her novels Our Only May Amelia, Penny from Heaven, and Turtle in Paradise are all Newbery Honor winners. Jennifer also collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on two graphic novel series: the Eisner Award-winning Babymouse series and the bestselling Squish series.

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    Reviews for The Fourteenth Goldfish

    4/5

    222 ratings40 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Listened to it as an audio book and it was awesome. It was fun, poignant, and made you think. I hear people say "to be 16 again", but would you really want that. Loved this book, and a short audio book.
    • 5/5
      About a teen and her grandfather working together to get him back to the right age
    • 4/5
      Eleven-year-old Ellie was used to her life. She had the same best friend since she was little, and she and her mom had a comfortable routine. But, all that changed. Her best friend joined the volleyball team and her grandfather moved in. Watching her best friend slip away was hard, but dealing with her grandfather became the real challenge. Why? Because he was now a fourteen-year-old boy. As a scientist, he invented a formula that would reverse the aging process and make a person young again. He found a way to change the world, no more aging, no more pain. But, does the world need changing? Ellie learns a great deal as she tries to help her grandfather break into his lab to retrieve the formula, the biggest lesson being that things change, and we should enjoy life as we go.What I liked: great lessons throughout the book, and the main character truly grows as a person. Although the book is made for kids, I think adults would learn a few things from it as well. The grandfather character is fantastic! Exactly what you’d expect from an old man stuck in the body of a young kid. Hilarious.What I didn’t like: the first and last third of the book were wonderful, but the middle third was a bit slow. I had to force myself to get through it.Still, a good read and worth your time.4.5 out of 5 stars
    • 4/5
      Source: I Own

      I'm a little late getting to this one. I actually never knew about it until I was offered a copy of The Third Mushroom the companion book in this series. That said, I had no idea what to expect, and this isn't anything like I normally read.

      Still, I did end up enjoying it. It's a quick, easy read, and has a good balance of scientific facts mixed with light humor. I can easily see this recommended for students in middle-school, or maybe even 5-6th graders as it's a clean fiction that is easy to understand, and yet interesting enough to keep readers of all ages entertained.
    • 3/5
      Fun story about a girl with a newly young grandfather, and artistic mother and a burgeoning love for science as she navigates the bumps of middle school. Both an enjoyable read and a very hopeful one.
    • 4/5
      This was a wonderful story that contained heartwarming elements, as well as ample teachings about science. This book could be used to teach students about the scientific process, nobel prizes, famous scientists and the power and responsibility that comes with scientific discovery. With strong willed Ellie and eccentric, angsty Melvin, this story would appeal to both boy and girl students. I feel that this story has something for every student and could be a great catalyst for critical thinking. Lastly, it is short enough that it would make a great read aloud book.
    • 4/5
      After decades of research, Ellie's grouchy old scientist grandfather has finally developed a way to reverse the aging process, and turns himself into a polyester pants wearing, wine drinking, Chinese take-out loving 14 year old boy. This hilarious middle grade novel will having you laughing from start to finish.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful coming of age story of a young girl trying to find a new normal in her life. She and her mother live a scattered lifestyle until her grandfather comes into her life in a unique way, upsetting the chaos in she and her mother's lives, and setting her on the path to a true life's lesson. I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review, and before I finished reading it I learned it was selected as a Sunshine State Young Readers award book for the 2015-2016 school year. I look forward to sharing and promoting this book with my young readers next year!
    • 3/5
      A mad scientist who invents the fountain of youth, suffers from teenage angst and acne. Delivering an interesting mix of humor and science, this book is sure to please youngsters who enjoy jumping into the craziness to fiction while uncovering the circle of life.
    • 2/5
      middlegrade children's fiction (realistic school story sci fiction). Reviewed from uncorrected egalley.
      Hooray for science, and also for girls and science. Though the characters were sometimes a bit flat, I liked the motley cast and the fact that it's a totally functional divorced family, but the story isn't about that at all--it's just a normal school story dealing with friends drifting apart, new bonds being made, and the old-fashioned science fiction pursuit of eternal life.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: When Ellie was in preschool, she had a teacher named Starlily who gave all the children a goldfish to teach them about the cycle of life. "Goldfish don't last very long." However, Ellie's goldfish never went to Fishbowl Heaven until fifth grade. "He didn't last very long," Ellie's mum says. "What are you talking about? He lasted seven years!" Which is when Ellie learns Goldie had been replaced over the years and this was Goldfish #13.Starlily's lesson on life is proven wrong when Ellie's grandfather Melvin engineers a way to reverse senescence (the process of aging) through cellular regeneration, and ends up on Ellie's doorstep one day as a 14 year old boy.Moving back in with Ellie and her mother, and having to attend middle school with her due to legality reasons, Melvin befriends a goth named Raj. Melvin tries to ignite a passion for science in Ellie, something he failed to do with Ellie's mother (a drama teacher at the school). Raj also helps them break into Melvin's laboratory one evening by disguising as a pizza boy to claim back the T. melvinus formula before anyone else accidentally comes into contact and reverses their age.Topics such as coming of age, letting go of friendships and the meaning of life are all addressed. My Opinion: I read it as an adult and enjoyed it. There was a lot of subtle humour which children who read it might not pick up on. The ending was clever and felt like the type of ending a sequel could easily be written to.
    • 3/5
      Read aloud over several weeks, between several other books separately by R and me. As she said approvingly: "Not a great book, but a really good idea." The whacky premise is used for serious consideration of how science works, how kids and parents relate to one another throughout their lives. Holm still leaves plenty of room for antics like a pizza delivery staged to distract from a lab break-in. It worked as an evening read probably because it was so different from either of our standard interests.
    • 4/5
      Very good! Imagine having your grandfather show up at your house - in the body of a teenager.
    • 4/5
      Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

      Sixth-grader Ellie is a perceptive and bright narrator who brings an unbiased and comic look at the crazy situation her family is thrown into when her grandfather discovers an antidote to aging and turns himself into a teenager. Now, despite his Harvard education and fan club in Finland, cranky grandfather Melvin is going back to middle school, all the while scheming with Ellie on the best way to break into his lab and recover his research.

      Jennifer Holm is a genius at packing so much into her deceptively simple prose. The story is fun and engaging, and manages to touch on weighty issues without sounding heavy-handed. Her characters are at once familiar and wholly original - from Ellie's flamboyant drama teacher mom, to her scientist grandfather, and even Ellie herself, who's learning what it means to grow up even as her grandfather seeks to reverse aging.

      A lovely book, warm and sentimental in the best way, that explores what it is to grow up and grow old, and what can be learned from doing both.
    • 3/5
      This book was stuffed with science. That was cool but sometimes it seemed a lil forced and not a part of the storyline. The freak friday aspect- old person in young body- was very cool. I am glad for the lil twist at the end. I honestly had not really considered it until Ellie brought it up. It was also fun like a caper with some family dynamics and relationship stuff as well. Very well rounded book for upper elementary age and middle schoolers.
    • 4/5
      Ellie is starting sixth grade when suddenly this sullen, grouchy teenager shows up at her house with her mom. He seems oddly familiar until she figures out it is her grandfather who has invented a drug to "cure old age". He is determined to get back into his office to get the information that he is certain will win him the Nobel Prize. Ellie is dealing with friend changes and realizing that she thinks science is really cool. The book is peppered with information about real scientists and their work. A touching story with dynamic characters.
    • 4/5
      Where do authors get their fresh ideas and how do they pull them off? This charming story has a very down-to-earth quality in the relationships that are portrayed and a fantastical element in part of its premise. Ellie is on the cusp of teenager-hood, living with her single Mom in CA and maintaining a good relationship with her Dad. She is a sweet and guileless girl who hasn't begun to challenge authority or rebel. This status quo gets challenged when her grandfather Melvin shows up -- not as the crotchety old man her mother doesn't get along with, but as a crotchety old man in a teenager's body! He is a well-known scientist (with a fan club in Finland) and he has just created a serum that reverses aging. After trying it on himself, his life has really been upended. He is put into Ellie's mom's (his own daughter) custody, is enrolled in Ellie's middle school, can no longer drive, drink, or go to work -- nobody at his job believes him and he is barred from the building, while the serum goes undetected in the lab freezer. Hilarity ensues. Particularly funny is the old man voice and perspective in the midst of teen problems and issues (acne, homework, detention, love interest -- Ellie's best friend has a little crush on Melvin). Meanwhile, Ellie and her Mom try to pass Melvin off as a far-flung cousin. Melvin's goal is to get his serum back and Ellie tries to help, along with Raj a new friend who is an admirer of the adult Melvin's scientific discoveries. It all comes down to a sweet reflection on growing up, growing old, confronting change (and the attitude you confront it with) and the role of family in its many forms. There's also some excellent science knowledge and reflection here too. And it all works beautifully!
    • 4/5
      Lovely story about a girl's growing relationship with her grandfather and how it helps her make important discoveries about herself. Well-crafted, engaging novel that is nicely suited for group discussion.
    • 3/5
      This review and others posted over at my blogI received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Blurb from NetGalley: "Science can change the world...but can it go too far? Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He's bossy. He's cranky. And weirdly enough he looks a lot like Ellie's grandfather, a scientist who's always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?"This was a cute book - I read it all in one sitting and I would guess it would be just as engrossing for the target audience (grades 5-7 according to Amazon). This book was easy to understand, yet threaded the science facts throughout, making them part of Ellie's discoveries and newfound interest in science, rather than just throwing facts at kids for the sake of some educational value. Turning 12, Ellie is also entering middle school and starting to deal with the difficulties that come along with that. Teenage years are awkward and can be hard to handle, but so can the pre-teen years. Oftentimes that's when people really start to develop more of their personality, or go through phases to figure out how they want to dress, what their interests are, and it's the start of self discovery. The Fourteenth Goldfish touches base on this topic a little with the changing relationship between Ellie and her old best friend. Children have to be aware that at some point, people may change and your friendships might not last forever - yet you make new friends along the way and this book shows that with Ellie's newfound friendship with Raj and even the mysterious boy. I had a little confusion was about Raj, Ellie's new friend, as he was an alternative boy with facial and ear piercings (and possibly a shaved head), but I have a hard time imagining a 12-year-old with a lip ring. Even if he's older, if he's not in high school yet he's probably not older than 14. I can almost picture a 14-year-old with lip and eyebrow piercings, but not really. I also thought the ending was a little abrupt...MINOR SPOILER...because the solution for part of the issue was to flush the cause of an amazing scientific discovery down the toilet and I couldn't imagine this happening.I assume this is the start of what could be an excellent middle-grade series based on a female protagonist interested in science. If you know any young science fans, they should certainly check this out! Even if you're just a fan of middle-grade fiction, at a little over 200 pages this is easily worth your time.
    • 4/5
      This is an enjoyable, easy young adult read. The question of whether one would want to be young forever is such a powerful thought. On one hand there are so many bad things that come with aging, but if you erase all that, you also erase the beauty of being able to use and share your wisdom.
    • 4/5
      Ellie is a little surprised when her mother brings home a teenaged boy, and the surprises just keep coming once she learns that this teenager is her grandfather! He is a scientist who has realized his lifelong goal to reverse aging! Which is thrilling but presents a number of challenges for Eliie and her mom. As teenagers grandfathers tend to be more than a little offbeat!Ellie and her grandfather get to know each other as they attend middle school together and embark on a slightly illegal quest to retrieve his research materials from the lab that no longer recognizes him! Together they grapple with big ethical questions, especially the responsibility of a scientist to deal with the consequences of their discoveries. Jennifer Holm sneakily teaches the reader about scientists such as Marie Curie, Jonas Salk, and Robert Oppenheimer. A fun read with a little education thrown in.
    • 4/5
      Sweet, funny -- nothing inappropriate. Good for both elementary and middle.
    • 4/5
      Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.
    • 5/5
      I loved this middle grade book about dealing with change and the inevitability of change!Ellie's life is undergoing changes that she isn't happy about. Her best friend is moving on to other friends. She has left fifth grade and is now in sixth attending a middle school. Her grandfather is now living with them as a teenager and she found out her goldfish hasn't lived for seven years. It has been replaced several times by a concerned mother.There are many great lessons that can be taken away from this book. One is that change isn't a bad thing. Ellie's life didn't shatter when her best friend found new friends. Ellie learned that she can make new friends and her life can still be good and fun. She noticed people around her and realized that even though they may look different, each is unique and can offer good things to her life.The goldfish analogy was perfect. She found the thirteenth goldfish belly up in her tank. She discovered it wasn't the original. The lesson she learned about the life cycle was wonderful. Life is meant for plants, people, animals, etc to grow and fulfill a role on Earth. To change the pattern doesn't make the world a better place. It adds uncertainty and opens up many scenarios that would not be helpful to the world as a whole.I highly recommend this book not just to children, but to everyone who enjoys a good story.
    • 3/5
      Ellie is entering sixth grade and things are changing. The most dramatic change is the fact that her scientist grandfather miraculously found a discovery to physically regress. He is now Ellie's age. Seeking shelter with his daughter (Ellie's mother), Ellie rides the school bus with her grandfather. And, Ellie's mother now becomes a mother figure to her father. A Geek and proud of it, he never tries to fit in. When he is locked out of his laboratory, he seeks the aid of a classmate.When Ellie was very young, she won a goldfish at the carnival. Believing that the Goldfish had thirteen lives because it never died, she had no idea that her parents simply replaced a living fish with the dead one. Seeking an award for his incredible discovery, her grandfather is analogous to the fourteenth goldfish. It will live on, but there are consequences.Examining the repercussions of things that can be done, but perhaps should not be accomplished, Ellie learns that life has a cycle and should be respected.
    • 5/5
      What an odd book. This is a light, funny, quick read, yet the real subject matter is life, death and aging. This humorously titled book asks the deep philosophical question, "If you could live forever, would you want to?"Ellie lives with her divorcee mother, who is now dating again. Her mother is still on friendly terms with Ellie's father, so she sees him regularly. Both parents are the artsy type. Her maternal grandfather however, is a semi-famous scientist. A 73-year-old crochety old man who - as the book opens - has shown up on their doorstep in the body of a 14-year-old boy. He has actually discovered how to reverse aging, and tested it on himself. Now in this teenage body, but still with his old man scientist brain, he must enroll in middle school with Ellie, pretending to be her "cousin" Melvin. Only Ellie, her mother, and very soon her friend Raj, know the truth of who Melvin is. The actual plot largely involves Melvin's efforts to get a jellyfish from the laboratory where he did his work, but in which he cannot go as a 14-year-old. The real meat of the story, however, is thoughts on aging and death. There is also a fair amount of praise for science, and the thought that science itself is a noble vocation or avocation. But science has no moral stance. What is learned from science can be good, or bad, or most frequently both, depending on what is done with the knowledge.
    • 5/5
      Read from August 30 to 31, 2014I LOVED this book and can't wait to share it with my daughter (one day) and all of the other tween girls (that will eventually be) in my life. Like any good book, this one made me seek out more info -- I wanted to know more about the scientists mentioned. Plus a middle school girl interested in science? Yes! Reading this made me wish I were a scientist...Holm did a great job of making science interesting and also presenting an ethical dilemma.
    • 4/5
      The Fourteenth Goldfish y Jennifer L. Holm tells of a girl learning about possibilities, both for good and for power.Ellie's life is changing and she's not happy about it. Her best friend is trying out for the volleyball team, so she has new friends and a busy schedule. Her goldfish also dies. Thankfully, Ellie's grandfather moves in with them about the same time, so she has plenty to keep her occupied. She's much like her grandfather, for she likes science. He makes her realize that she has many talents that are like his. She begins to see possibilities and interest in life surrounding her at the microscopic level. She also meets a goth kid named Raj, who is pretty cool. He helps Ellie's grandfather and enjoys hanging out with Ellie because they are both happy with who they are.I like Ellie because she isn't the typical fiction teen. She is upset that her best friend is hanging out with others, but she doesn't whine and cry about it. She doesn't wallow in angst or act up. She just grows up without drama. She accepts change even if she doesn't like it, approaching it scientifically as the circle of life--things change and they should. I also like that her parents get along even though they are divorced. It's a pretty happy book with a valid point about life. This novel is fairly short, so it's a nice afternoon reading experience.
    • 5/5
      Ellie's grandfather is a scientist. He's cranky, particular, and hoards packets of soy sauce when they visit the Chinese restaurant. What Ellie does not expect is that one day he will turn up at her house as a teenage boy, having discovered a cure for aging using cells from a rare jellyfish. Grandpa Melvin, now looking like an oddly-dressed thirteen-year-old, is discovering that being a teenager again has its drawbacks -- most notably, he can't get into his lab any more to continue working on his experiments. Ellie, on the other hand, is discovering the drawbacks of adolescence for the first time, as her best friend discovers new interests that don't include Ellie. Then again, Ellie is discovering new interests of her own: when Grandpa Melvin talks about science, it's a lot more interesting than she ever realized before. With the help of a new friend from school, Ellie and Grandpa Melvin hatch a plan to rescue Grandpa Melvin's experiments from his lab so he can continue his work. But Ellie is starting to wonder if there might be serious consequences to Grandpa Melvin's discovery. Is helping him continue to experiment really the best thing to do?This story has a lot of good things going for it: it's a fast, funny read that incorporates a lot of science without becoming didactic. I thought it had just a couple of weaknesses, all related to the ending, which I don't want to give away here. So, if you find the summary intriguing, you will just have to read it and tell me whether you buy what happens at the end of the book, or if you (like me) were expecting a different outcome based on certain clues in the text. But even though I'm not a hundred percent sold on the ending, I thought this was an excellent book, and I'll be recommending it to kids at my library.
    • 4/5
      Ellie Cruz is a pre-teen girl whose goldfish has died. Unbeknownst to her, her mother has been replacing her dead goldfish and this was the thirteenth one. Then this strange kids shows up one day and she is shocked to find out that it is her grandfather who has found the fountain of youth and is now a fourteen year old boy. Together, they try to get back into his science lab to get the fish that made him so young. This young reader s novel is quirky and fun. It teaches Ellie and the reader that science can be fun. It also There is a little history and some lessons about life and death. I believe that the age group (10-12 year olds) will enjoy this story.