Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book was ok, possibly almost good. But certainly NOT for 8 and up or the 3rd-5th grade group it's being marketed to, which is why I rated it so low. I read this with my 9-year-old and was not really impressed. Although it does do a nice job of showing what Key West must have been like all those years ago, there are pieces of the plot I would have rather not discussed with my daughter. Spoiler alert but good warning for parents - included in this book is the fact that the main character discovers that her mother got pregnant outside of marriage and then ran off when the guy wouldn't marry her right away, thereby becoming a disgrace to her mother for being an single mom. Can we just let children stay children until at least TEN! Kids that age don't fully understand where babies come from - but if you read this book, be ready to explain it! All through the book, you get to read all about how the mom is constantly dating this guy and that and how they all try and buy the kid's love along the way. Then at the end, she actually gets married - only to have that guy steal all their money and run off to Cuba without them! What a great bedtime story, right? Don't worry honey, our dad isn't going to steal all our money and run away. Now go to sleep...... If this book were marketed to 5th or 6th grade and up, it would be more appropriate. The conversations between the characters are often funny. If it were marketed for 11 and up, I'd probably have given it 3 or 4 stars.