Review: The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Number of Pages: 194
How I Got This Book: e-ARC from Netgalley
My Rating: 3/5

Goodreads Summary:

"For Ruby Pepperdine, the “center of everything” is on the rooftop of Pepperdine Motors in her donut-obsessed town of Bunning, New Hampshire, stargazing from the circle of her grandmother Gigi’s hug.  That’s how everything is supposed to be—until Ruby messes up and things spin out of control. But she has one last hope. It all depends on what happens on Bunning Day, when the entire town will hear Ruby read her winning essay. And it depends on her twelfth birthday wish—unless she messes that up too. Can Ruby’s wish set everything straight in her topsy-turvy world?"

My Review: 

Ruby and her grandma, Gigi, are very close. Gigi teaches her all kinds of things, especially about the constellations. So, she is devastated when Gigi passes away. Ruby keeps going over her last minutes with Gigi and feels like she talked more than she listened to her. She wishes more than anything that she can go back in time and change things. 

Her secret wish leads to misunderstandings with her best friend, Lucy, and her newly found friend Nero. Again, she wishes she can go back in time and change things so that things would be like they used to be. Maybe wishes DO come true, but not in the way that you might expect.

This was a cute "coming-of-age" type story for middle grade readers.The protagonist, Ruby, is very likeable and the town of Bunning seems charming, if not quirky. I can honestly say I did not care for the character of Lucy, Ruby's best friend. I found that she was extremely self-absorbed and I thought that in light of the fact that Ruby's beloved grandmother passed away, she was not a very good friend to her. But, then, this is somewhat normal for this age group, I suppose! 

Overall, this was a quick, sweet read that young kids can relate to, and I enjoyed it.