A Smidgen of Sky
by Dianna Dorisi Winget
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 208
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: November 6, 2012
Suggested tags: middle grade, realistic fiction
From Goodreads:
"Whether she likes it or not, ten-year-old Piper Lee DeLuna is about to get a new family. Four years after the plane Piper's daddy was piloting disappeared, her mama is remarrying. The way Piper sees it, Mama's being plain disloyal. Besides, who'd want to get stuck with a prison guard for a stepdad and that weenie, Ginger, for a stepsister? But when Piper Lee hatches a foolproof plan to get the wedding called off, it quickly spirals out of control. And by the time Piper realizes what she’s done—and just how much she really cares about her new family—it might be too late. With a perfect blend of heartbreak and humor, this refreshing middle-grade debut explores opening one’s heart and learning to let go."
{ The author kindly provided a hardcover edition of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. }
A Smidgen of Sky is everything I love about middle grade fiction. It has a fun, feisty main character with a unique voice and personality. It tackles big issues and really gets you in the main character's head, but it's done on an appropriate level for the character and for readers. It pulls you into the story from page one and wraps you up in the emotions, adventures, and misadventures of the main character, keeping you flipping the pages compulsively till you get to the warm and fuzzy end.
Piper Lee is having a hard time dealing with the loss of her dad after he disappeared flying his plane, and now her mom's getting remarried. And it doesn't help that she doesn't get along very well with her future stepdad, Ben, and stepsister, Ginger. She decides she's going to try to get answers to some questions she has, but she finds that her actions are affecting others in ways she did not anticipate...and in ways that she may not be able to fix.
Piper Lee is a great character, and Winget is a great writer - she really pulls you into Piper's world and her problems and makes you feel all her ups and downs right along with her. One of Piper's schemes involves meeting up with someone she met online, which I will admit made me a little uncomfortable when I first read it, but Winget develops it into a good message on internet safety. Being a southern girl at heart, I loved the southern touches Winget weaves throughout her characters' words and actions. I would pick up another middle grade book by Winget in a heartbeat!
Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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