A Perfect Mistake by Melanie Conklin is a Middle Grade fiction about a very tall 11 year old boy named Max whose friend is in a coma at the hospital. Max and his friends Joey and Will sneak out to a dangerous, somewhat abandoned area and when they get scared by some older boys, Max runs away. Meanwhile, something happens to Will and while it seems Joey and some of the older boys might know what happened, no one is coming forward and telling the detectives, except Max. Max and his friend Samantha decide to try to find out more about what happened, at times putting themselves in harms way to get more details.
The story has slightly scary moments and describes an event where a child became very hurt, but I would still consider it appropriate for most middle grade students in grades 3-8. The only foul language is the word "damn" and even at that it is an adult saying it and then apologizing. There is allusion to a bottle of alcohol but mostly just in a "he shouldn't have taken it from his parents" kind of way, not a drunk behaviour or cool kids kind of way. There is a bit of physical bullying and the parent of one of the boys is a bit rough with his kids, but for the most part it is not a violent story. I would consider reading this book with my students later in the year and with a bit of discussion around it. It is not something I would prevent a student in my class from reading if they were interested but it is probably geared towards about Grade 5 or 6.
One thing I really like about this book is that the main character has ADHD and this is a very important part of the story. While his difficulties are explored, including time with a therapist, diagnosis, and the potential for medication, it is always in a very neutral light. There is very little shame about the diagnosis and he is not treated differently because of it. The story is not about ADHD, but rather it is about a boy who is a regular kid, and also learning to manage his diagnosis in successful and positive ways. I think that more opportunities for students to read about characters like them is so important. I have 3 students in my class who are diagnosed and medicated for ADHD and a couple of others who I think should probably be diagnosed and see a doctor. ADHD is so common today and so often is it part of a punitive "Why can't you just sit still" mentality that positive examples of characters in books and movies who are leading normal lives with adaptations is sooooo important for these kids to see.
I think this book is great and would definitely recommend it to middle grade teachers and families of children ages 8-12. There are elements that are interesting and unique to the story and will keep kids reading, while also being fairly appropriate and not scary or graphic. As always, I recommend teachers read a copy themselves before reading it to their students, but I think this could be a great opening for discussion with middle great students about real issues like peer pressure and increased independence that comes with becoming a pre-teen/early teen.
Thanks so much Netgalley and the Publisher (Little Brown Books for Young Readers) for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fabulous book. I look forward to purchasing a copy for my classroom library soon!
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