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Monday, April 26, 2021

Realistic Fiction review of Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly
Format:  E-ARC via Netgalley
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books
Number of pages:  160
Publishing:  May 4th, 2021
Source:  Sparkpress 

Opening Lines:  "There is a magnolia tree in Marisol Rainey's backyard."

Marisol 
has a big imagination and likes to name animate and inanimate objects around her, her refrigerator is named after Buster Keaton and the magnolia tree in her backyard is named Peppina.  Marisol doesn't think Peppina is all that great, it's defiantly not the best tree ever like her brother Oz has proclaimed, but everyone else seems to like the tree but her.  Maybe if everyone knew that Marisol gets all shaky and nervous inside whenever she thinks about climbing the tree, maybe then they'd understand how she feels.  Instead, they think she's being too sensitive, even her dad who's in the Gulf of Mexico working on an oil rig thinks she worries too much.  Only Marisol's best friend, Jada seems to get how she feels.  Yet, maybe, just maybe Marisol can be as brave as she wants to be and finally climb that tree.  

Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey is an adorable illustrated chapter book about a young girl who despite being riddled with fears and anxieties, also has a strong desire to overcome them.   Marisol is really a sweet little girl.  She loves her stuffed animals, cat and her best friend, Jada.  Her nickname is "Scraps" after a Charlie Chaplin movie and her favorite food is nachos.  She's kind, sensitive and despite being considered quiet, she also seems to feel things deeply.  She reminds me a lot of  Matilda and Harriet maybe a little bit of Ivy and Bean too.  Although the artwork in my ARC was only partially completed, it really complemented the gentle nature of the story.  This will resonate with children who've been told that they're overly sensitive, or quiet and inspire other kids to be as supportive as Jada is to Rainey.  As Jada so aptly put, "friends don't think of all the things you can't do."  With its positive messaging and themes, this is a sweet story not to be missed.   *Thank you to SparkPress and Netgalley for the E-ARC**   

2 comments:

  1. This sounds like a sweet chapter book that shares how important it is to find others who understand you. I really like Matilda, so this might be a good book for me. Thanks.

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  2. I hope we will continue to see more books like this.

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