Violet and the Pie of Life
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
There's no golden ratio for a family, despite what number-crunching Violet might think.
Twelve-year-old Violet has two great loves in her life: math and pie. And she loves her parents, even though her mom never stops nagging and her dad can be unreliable. Mom plus Dad doesn't equal perfection. Still, Violet knows her parents could solve their problems if they just applied simple math.
#1: Adjust the ratio of Mom's nagging to her compliments.
#2: Multiply Dad's funny stories by a factor of three.
#3: Add in romantic stuff wherever possible.
But when her dad walks out, Violet realizes that the odds do not look good. Why can't her parents get along like popular, perfect Ally's parents? Would it be better to have no dad at all, like her best friend, McKenzie? Violet is considering the data when she and Ally get cast in the school play, and McKenzie doesn't--a probability that Violet never calculated. Maybe friendship and family have more variables than she thought.
Filled with warmth, math-y humor, and delicious pie, this heartfelt middle grade read is perfect for fans of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl. Includes illustrated charts, graphs, and diagrams throughout.
A Mathical Book Prize Honor Book
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Orange County, Calif.–based math whiz Violet Summers, 12, who has "big brown eyes and peach-colored skin," feels gutted when her father goes from being her goofy, joke-telling partner in crime to disappearing from her life without explanation. After moving out one day, he fails to return her calls or emails; instead of providing sufficient clarification, her mother either works, nags, or uses "her soothy voice" to express sympathy. Despite her aversion to standing out, Violet auditions for The Wizard of Oz, hoping to avoid home and hang out with her domineering best friend McKenzie Williston, also white, at rehearsals. But when Violet secures the role of the Lion and McKenzie is cast in a minor role, Violet has mixed feelings about appearing alongside kind, popular part-white, part-Mexican Ally Ziegler ("her nice parents and cute sisters and perfect life"), who is cast as Dorothy and whom McKenzie abhors. Through charts, graphs, and diagrams, all pictured, Violet attempts to solve the mystery of her circumstances—and how she can fix them. Green sincerely conjures Violet's deep pain, confusion, frustration, and worry over shifting relationships; her frank, energetic voice carries this sensitive narrative. Ages 8–12.
