Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes - Hardcover

Lambert, Mary E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545931983 ISBN 13: 9780545931984

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2017

Synopsis

A debut middle grade novel about throwing things out -- and letting people in. Family Game Night tackles a tough issue with a light, accessible touch and writing that sparkles with heart.

Annabelle has a secret . . . a secret so big she won't allow friends within five miles of her home. Her mom collects things. Their house is overflowing with stuff. It gives Annabelle's sister nightmares, her brother spends as much time as he can at friends' houses, and her dad buries himself in his work.So when a stack of newspapers falls on Annabelle's sister, it sparks a catastrophic fight between their parents--one that might tear them all apart--and Annabelle starts to think that things at home finally need to change. Is it possible for her to clean up the family's mess? Or are they really, truly broken?Mary E. Lambert's moving and heart-breakingly funny debut novel about the things we hold dear--and the things we let go--will resonate with anyone whose life has ever felt just a little too messy.

About this title

About the Author

Mary E. Lambert is a middle school English teacher in Tempe, Arizona. She graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts with an MFA in children's writing and is the author of Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes. Visit her on Twitter @MaryUncontrary or at MaryELambert.com.

Reviews

Gr 4–7—Annabelle's family seems to be slowly slipping out of control. In order to establish a sense of order for herself, Annabelle creates a few self-imposed rules. First, nobody from school is allowed within five miles of her house. This is pretty easy, since her family's increasingly run-down abode is miles outside of town. Second, no unnecessary items are allowed in her room, and she checks for this daily. Finally, and most important, nobody outside of Annabelle's family can know what really goes on at home. She does not want anyone to know that her mom collects things. In fact, she hoards them. Room after room has been taken over by items like newspapers (arranged by weather forecast), canned goods, items purchased from infomercials, Beanie Babies, and egg cartons. As a result, Annabelle's little sister has nightmares, her brother spends as little time at the house as possible, and her father throws himself into his work. After an incident with one of her mother's stacks of newspapers, Annabelle's parents have a fight that threatens to tear the family apart. Can Annabelle's overbearing, bossy grandmother step in and save the day, or will she do more harm than good? Will her mother ever be able to function without hoarding? This poignant tale with an authentic and memorable narrator will resonate with many young readers—whether they have personal experiences with hoarding or not. VERDICT Move this to the top of the realistic fiction purchase list in libraries serving middle graders.—Carli Sauer, Carmel Middle School, IN

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The newspapers fell on my sister at breakfast this morning.And I didn't do anything to stop it.Sometimes I have this feeling that I'm completely disconnected from my body, like I'm watching my life on TV or in a dream, and it doesn't occur to me until ten minutes or two weeks later that, hey, I could've done something. I don't have to sit in the audience and watch things fall apart.But that's exactly what I did at breakfast. I just sat there, waiting to see if today would be the day the newspapers finally fell. It was the “highs in the mid to upper 70s” pile that came crashing down. The newspapers are organized by weather report, and since it's almost June, Mom has been adding to the “highs in the mid to upper 70s” pile every day. Lately she's had to stand on her tiptoes in order to reach the top, and this morning–before she could even add to it–it was already swaying from side to side, back and forth. It looked like a Jenga tower right before someone loses, and today Leslie was the loser.I've known for weeks now that they were bound to come crashing down. It's why I haven't sat at the head of the table since spring break. The head of the table is the best seat in the house–it's closest to the fridge and, therefore, the fewest steps to the milk. Yes, I am that lazy. And, apparently, so is my sister, because as soon as I switched seats, she nabbed up my old one. I should have warned her not to sit there, told her why I'd changed seats. But, honestly, it never occurred to me.I thought about how the newspapers would probably fall on her head, and in cold, fatalistic silence, I consumed my cereal, morning after morning, waiting and watching.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545931983
• ISBN 13: 9780545931984
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256