SLEEPLESS IN THE SOUTH

Megan Sovern owes me a Saturday afternoon. That’s what I lost because I had to take a nap because I was up half the night reading her debut novel.

THE MEANING OF MAGGIE by Megan Jean Sovern, Chronicle Books, 2014

I learned a long time ago I can’t pull an all-nighter the way I used to. That knowledge didn’t stop me from wanting to see how Maggie’s life turned out when it began with her dad in the hospital and ended in the same place except…

It’s the "except" part that kept me reading. Maggie is sprightly, fun, bright, too bright some would say, but smart girls should be IN not left OUT of things, especially when you have Maggie’s temperament, are the future president of the United States of America and own stock in Coca-Cola. She loves, especially her family, cares, especially about other people, is spunky, and thinks her dad and mom are the top guys on the planet. Mom and Dad may be pushing that last part, however as Maggie gets older and begins to realize her older sisters aren’t all bad and maybe Mom and Dad aren’t all perfect.

Maggie is about to turn 11 or as the book jacket puts it, “one year closer to college. One year closer to voting. And one year closer to getting a tattoo. *” Footnotes throughout the book tell us what Maggie thinks, and the tattoo footnote tells us Maggie thinks tattoos are terrifying.  It’s just nice to know she is one year closer to getting one if she wants to.

As care-free as Maggie seems, she is super worried about her cool dude dad whose legs have fallen asleep. She tries hard to honor the family motto, “Pull up your bootstraps.” Not easy. Author Sovern’s insights into how each member of the family handles Dad’s increasing disability turn Maggie’s family into the reader’s family, too.

If you lose a night of sleep reading this book, it’s not my fault. Tell the author. She lives in Atlanta. Probably hangs out in coffee shops with a notepad and pencil. Or a laptop. Maybe a tablet. Smart phone? Happy hunting.