Cute book about a girl whose scientist grandfather reverts to a 13 year old, but still behaves like a cranky grandpa. Funny and pleasant. ( )

A kid's Rick and Morty...

Opening on a child thinking that they're goldfish lasted seven years is really adorable, even if the mom obviously was replacing the goldfish this is a cute opening and I really like it. I love this. A charming start.

But after that it all sort of fades away, the grandpa becomes a young boy and as a grandpa in his seventies he is a giant asshole. He constantly slut shames his daughter while looking like a child and constantly insults everyone around him as stupid even though they're also thirteen.

Everyone is an idiot to this Rick level grandpa and everyone is mocked and belittled. It's very repulsive and I wouldn't want my kid to read this and connect with such a scumbag.

He's exactly what an old man in stereotype scenes are. Racist, sexist, misogynistic.

He rapidly name drops multiple people of History almost every other page is him just dropping names over and over, and big scientific words that no child is going to understand. For real, I don't know why this is a book for eight-year-olds when it would take kids much older to read it. Maybe it could be for teenagers but it's still a little bit more complicated.

With the rapid spouting of random names and random historic events this book is a little bit dizzying.

"But that's not even the worst of it. They stick you away in nursing homes and assisted living facilities just because you're old. Then do you know what happens? Everybody around you starts dying! Heart attacks! Strokes! Cancer! People you've known your whole life are just gone! People you love! Can you imagine how painful that is?"

"I'd rather be dead than old."

These are the closest to humanity the grandfather comes across the course of eighty-five pages. That's almost half of this book!

Also this is one scene and then there's no more kindness save him cooking a dish.

Then they have him walking around with Catcher in the Rye! This is for kids! Kids aren't going to understand all of this! It's full of references to bombings and murder too. If kids look up some of these things, they'll be deeply traumatized.

2 stars. ( )

My thoughts upon finishing this:

1. This is like [a:Rebecca Stead|175329|Rebecca Stead|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1212611033p2/175329.jpg] lite! And I mean that as a compliment! Stead's books explore themes in interesting and sophisticated ways. This explored a theme (the impacts of science on nature) on a bunch of levels in a way that is (probably) easier to grasp for most young readers. I'm very excited to talk to kids about this one.

2. Man, I love this idea of a teenage grandparent. So funny. There was something about it that was familiar to me, but I can't put my finger on where I've seen it before. It begs to be a movie with a great young actor playing Melvin with his scrunchies and polyester pants. Now, I will admit that so much of the Melvin story stretches logic past its breaking point, but I don't care. The story was realistic where it needed to be, and not so realistic in other places. I thought it all flowed beautifully in service of the story.

3. I wish I had read this earlier so I could have booktalked it at my school visits last spring. Our Summer Learning theme is science and this book pushes science in a really fun way. Ellie feels left out of her mom's theater world and her friend's volleyball world, but finds she belongs in the world of scientists.

4. I love Jenni Holm! I've never read anything by her I didn't like. The only thing that keeps me from giving this five stars is the title--well, really, the whole goldfish metaphor. It seemed a little tacked on and unnecessary, like driving home a point that's already been made, which is sort of like talking down to your audience. The only off-key note in an otherwise perfectly pitched middle grade novel. ( )

Delightful middle grade book blending science and family life for an 11 year old girl. ( )