Laurie Bauman ArnoldCritiques

I enjoyed reading Hello There, We’ve Been Waiting for You! The television transporting you into shows is a great idea. The author knows how to write humorously and pace the story. I read it through twice and enjoyed the second reading as much as the first. Madison starts out rather slow but soon develops into a character I could root for. She finds a friend in a lonely, neglected, and abused bulldog named Leroy. He is a scraggly mutt until Madison washes away all the grime the dog has lived in, and with, away. The same is true of the “crazy lady next door” as the paranoid Florida calls the woman. Madison befriends the woman and they are lovely scenes as the two find so much in common.

Madison’s grandmother Florida is not as easy to love. She is as odd as a duck in a bathtub. Florida is a cougar with large hair, a good sense of selfishness, and addicted to shopping by television. I did not like the way she treated her granddaughter, whom she insisted on calling her niece. She loved the new MegaPix 6000 and its ability to watch six shows at once that she called it “the best thing that ever happened to me.” Florida’s redemption does come and it is a great scene. Then, it was easy to love Florida. Grandpa Jack is not a central character, yet he is fun and just what Madison needs to offset Florida.

Jack will not live in the same house as Florida and instead lives closer to his work, where Florida refuses to move. All because she would not have as nice a house as she presently does. For the past fourteen years, Jack has been paying her bills and her shopping extravaganzas. But, to his credit—and our fun—on his twice monthly trips back home to Truth & Consequences, Jack gathers up a truckload of older unopened merchandise Florida has bought off TV shopping networks. He then takes it all to a flea market where he makes back a couple thousand from her “junk.” Jack is affectionate with Madison and tries to have fun with his granddaughter and put a smile on her face. I love that.

I loved the humor and the first couple shows that Madison teleported into. She was a bright actor with great adlib lines. Then she goes to a reality show—with Florida—and something or somehow the remote they need to get back home is stolen or lost. The scenes were so dangerous as if saying reality show themselves were dangerous. Other than this, the story was terrific. (The scenes being against reality shows my just be my interpretation and not the author’s intent).
I think middle grade kids and adults would love reading Hello There, We’ve Been Waiting for You There is lots of humor and heart, a bit of silliness, and the final television teleporting trip is filled with exciting action. Girls may seem a better fit for Hello There, We’ve Been Waiting for You but boys should not discount this story. There is much in this story of new relationships and learning to live and love who you are with for boy genders to love

originally published on Kid Lit Reviews http://kid-lit-reviews.com
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