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    The Meaning of Maggie
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    The Meaning of Maggie
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    The Meaning of Maggie
    Ebook193 pages2 hours

    The Meaning of Maggie

    By Megan Jean Sovern

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    As befits a future President of the United States of America, Maggie Mayfield has decided to write a memoir of the past year of her life. And what a banner year it's been! During this period she's Student of the Month on a regular basis, an official shareholder of Coca-Cola stock, and defending Science Fair champion. Most importantly, though, this is the year Maggie has to pull up her bootstraps (the family motto) and finally learn why her cool-dude dad is in a wheelchair, no matter how scary that is. Author Megan Jean Sovern, herself the daughter of a dad with multiple sclerosis, writes with the funny grace and assured prose of a new literary star. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this book will be donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChronicle Books Digital
    Release dateMay 6, 2014
    ISBN9781452130170
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Meaning of Maggie

    4/5

    50 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Charming, quirky narrator deals with real life issues in this fast paced MG read.
    • 4/5
      This is the second ER book in a week that has so taken me that I've read it in almost no time at all. This is the first-person story of Maggie Mayfield, a super-smart 11 year old girl who plans to be President of the United States. However, along the way to that goal, Maggie must deal with insufferable older sisters, a mom who works too much, and a dad who's legs don't work as they should. Maggie comes to the conclusion that she needs to figure out why her dad's legs fell asleep one day, and how to fix him. Fixing him, however, is not so easy. It is easy to fall in love with the characters of this book, and it is a charming read.
    • 5/5
      I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers . . . and I really thought it was well-written. It was a good read that I would recommend to a 10-year-old girl, as well as adult readers. It is about Maggie, an 11-year-old, who is living life in her family and at school (she loves school, and is extremely intelligent) in the late 1980's. However, we find out that life is not totally normal as she finally learns what all is happening with her father and why his legs used to work and now they don't work so well anymore.
    • 5/5
      This is a really great book for the middle grades, and possibly some mature younger kids, about living with chronic illness in your family. In spite of the fact that the protagonist, Maggie, has a father with multiple sclerosis, the book isn't at all depressing. This is in part because Maggie's parents and sisters try to keep her, the youngest in the family at eleven years old, insulated from the knowledge of how serious her father's condition is. His health is deteriorating, however, and they can't hide it from Maggie forever.But there's a lot going on here that's about multiple sclerosis: school friendships, including that all-important first "friend who is a boy", Maggie's relationships with her imperfect but loving, definitely functional family, her science project at school, and all that comes with being eleven years old. I'm assuming, based on the dedication, that the book is autobiographical. If it is I envy the author having such a wonderful family.
    • 5/5
      Life is tough... and fun... and complicated... and silly... when you are an ordinary 11 year old girl. But Maggie isn't ordinary -- she's a future President of the United States. And when her dad develops a debilitating illness, coping is no easy task. Maggie is smart, hardworking, and spunky -- but she is also flawed; realistically, unflinchingly so. And that might just be why she is one of the best middle grade characters out there. A fast-paced, bittersweet tale.
    • 4/5
      Easy read about how a young girl who can master anything at school but can't come to terms with her fathers illness
    • 5/5
      Maggie is your everyday pre-teen who is just learning about boys and still loves school and getting good grades. She has two older sisters who she describes as beauty queens and she love to be the family reporter, especially when it gets her sisters in trouble. But when her mom starts working and her dad quits his job, things start to get strange for Maggie and her family. Though her family tries to keep the information from her, she knows there is something wrong with her dad who is in a wheel chair because his legs get "sleepy". When Maggie decides to cure her dad as her science fair entry she comes to realize there is much more going on than her family is letting on, and Maggie is at a loss because her dad may be something she can't "fix".This book is an emotional roller coaster filled with great humor and an honest look at what life is like for children living with a parent with a disability. I would like to say that Maggie really grows up during this book but it is not so much growing up but dealing with things she cannot change instead. Through her family's protection, Maggie is able to be a young girl just enjoying life and learning as she grows but she is not forced into growing up to quickly because of her father. The best part about this book is the family dynamic and how even though the girls fight they still support each other.
    • 3/5
      Maggie learns a lot about her family and herself during her eleventh year. She is a confident and gifted child and her love for her father is huge. She takes one day at a time as she learns more about her father's illness and deals with many of the challenges of growing up. I enjoyed the way Maggie tells her story and got a chuckle out the "footnotes" she added to explain more fully her point of view.I am not sure that many young people of today will understand some of the references made to music and pop culture, but perhaps some will enjoy exploring these references. I have no problem recommending this book to others.
    • 4/5
      The Meaning of Maggie is heartfelt, silly, tender, goofy, and as winning as the charms of its center: Maggie Mayfield. As a future president, she carries the responsibility of conveying just her life as an eleven year old was like, for the clarity of future biographers. It's a trying year, a parent grapples with serious illness, the other, carrying the financial and emotional burden of being the "able-bodied" parent. Maggie's family has great heart, offbeat traditions, friends that are just off the track but still in your corner, and great love and humor to guide them through. Laughter is more frequent than tears in this tale, though you can't see why from my brief description. Better yet, sit down with the book , and let Maggie show you herself.
    • 5/5
      What a great book! Maggie Mayfield is a super smart and ambitious eleven-year-old who plans to become the President of the United States. She loves school, is generally annoyed by her teenage sisters, and is making it her mission to fix her dad, whose legs have fallen asleep because of Multiple Sclerosis. Since she's the baby of the family, Maggie has been kept in the dark about his condition all her life, but recent events, like her dad having to quit his job and mysterious trips to the hospital are too much for her to ignore. Maggie narrates the story, with very entertaining footnotes, as a memoir of her eleventh year when her life changed in a big way. A touching story about a family living with the ups and downs of an illness. Excellent writing! The perfect mix of serious and funny that makes you love Maggie and feel her heartache as she realizes the impact of her father's illness. Maggie is relatable and funny as she takes on new crushes (totally uncharted waters), teenage sisters (clearly aliens), and gym class (she'd rather be in the library). Recommended for grades 5 and up who enjoy realistic stories and humor.
    • 5/5
      The premise of The Meaning of Maggie made me picture silly, immature, middle schoolers; however, Megan Jeam Sovern proved that Maggie's book had far more depth than I could have hoped for. Set in Atlanta, Georgia, my beloved hometown, Maggie Mayfield, her two older sisters, and her parents are adapting to Mom working outside the home. Dad's multiple sclerosis is making his legs and arms very sleepy, so he quits his job at the airport in order to better take care of himself. Even though she is a genius who plans on becoming the President one day, Maggie, who just turned eleven, has only begun to see what is happening all around her at school and at home with her family, and in the process Maggie learns that sometimes everything is not about her.As I read Maggie's story, I fell in love with her witty, mature, eleven year old voice. In many ways, Maggie reminded me of my once eleven year old self. Sovern weaves a wonderful story of love, family, and self discovery while dealing with the illness of a loved one. I will recommend this to my middle school students. I think they will love Maggie just as much as I do.
    • 5/5
      In my initial impression I found the protagonist unrealistically mature and sarcastic for her age (as evidenced in her footnotes), but then perhaps the events that she recounted of the past year taught her a maturity and sense of humour that only someone of her intelligence could develop. It was a gentle and amusing way of presenting a chronic illness in the family, and of their ways of coping. It is not an issue book, but a comfortable way of sharing and showing that problems can be dealt with in a calm and loving manner. I look forward to reading more from this author.
    • 5/5
      This book is absolutely outstanding. It pulls the reader into the story from the beginning with the realistic portrayal of gifted 11 year-old Maggie Mayfield and her close-knit family. The reader experiences life in the loving Mayfield home as the family deals with the father's progressive illness. However, Maggie, the youngest Mayfield, has been protected from harsh realities. She comes to terms with the serious nature of her father's illness as she matures over the one-year time span covered in the book.This book will be recommended reading in my classroom.
    • 5/5
      This is an LibraryThing early review. As a media specialist, I am constantly looking for books with realistic female protagonists, and am delighted that I have found one in Maggie Mayfield. I loved the fact that although Maggie is a self confident eleven-year-old, the reader also gets to see Maggie doubt herself, fail, and grow emotionally from her experiences. Once I began reading, quickly thought of myself as Maggie's best friend, and did not want to put this book down. I would highly recommend this story for any middle grade girl who enjoys realistic fiction, and would definitely purchase this book for my school library.
    • 5/5
      Maggie is about to turn eleven. She is one of the smartest kids in her class and hopes to be president someday. But life is not easy for Maggie. She has two older annoyingly pretty teenage sisters she has to put up with, and shares a room with one of them. She also doesn?t understand why her Dad had to leave his job because his legs won't work, and why her mom had to start working again. She is also dealing with her first crush on a cool new boy at school. For middle grade fans of realistic fiction. But beware, the book is both laugh out loud funny and heartbreaking as the family deals with the father?s illness. 5 Stars! - SB
    • 3/5
      In some ways I really enjoyed this book, in others it felt like it was trying too hard. Maggie alternates between being over eager and annoying. I liked that she appreciated her mother, loved her father, and loved school, but sometimes it was a little too much. Maybe the food got to me too?I can?t take all the talk about sweets and eating. And I am a big sweet tooth, but the sneaking and eating of food seemed really excessive (but I haven?t been 11-12 for a very long time). All that said, this was a wonderful story about a child being protected from the realities of her father?s illness, about the way a family protects and loves one another, and about learning to cope and not be afraid. The parents and older sisters were lovingly represented?they seemed very real. And the awakening after doing her science fair project on MS was marvelous. The dialog was great, the relationships were well drawn, but occasionally Maggie?s over eagerness was annoying. I?d still recommend this book?strongly. There aren?t too many ?innocent? books (this family is nicely functional despite its problem), where drugs, sex, abuse, crime are not a part of the story!