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lower222's review
5.0
I’ve been reading all the 2018 Golden Sower young adult book award nominees with my son and this was my favorite so far! Such a charming and magical coming of age story. I was so pleased with the arc of the protagonist. The end actually gave me goose bumps. That doesn’t happen often!
crystal_reading's review
4.0
Review copy: ARC from publisher
Once again Kate Messner has created a story that drew me in and made me care about the characters. I loved that there was the addition of magical realism threaded through this family story.
I read the story straight through and enjoyed every minute of it. Who wouldn't want a pencil that had all of the answers? In some ways it reminded me of Bigger Than a Breadbox and I think readers who enjoyed that will love this one too.
Once again Kate Messner has created a story that drew me in and made me care about the characters. I loved that there was the addition of magical realism threaded through this family story.
I read the story straight through and enjoyed every minute of it. Who wouldn't want a pencil that had all of the answers? In some ways it reminded me of Bigger Than a Breadbox and I think readers who enjoyed that will love this one too.
louisa_meg's review
3.0
This book was aimed towards girls more 9-10, but that wasn't obvious from the start. It is really a good book though. Definitely covered some issues that a lot of young people have.
embe94's review
3.0
Cute book! Nothing wow’d me, but definitely a fun book that also explores middle grades dealing with anxiety. Fun twist of magic and mystery! Kate Messner never disappoints!
katy_irene's review
4.0
Ava finds a pencil that knows all the answers. But does Ava want to know all the answers? With questions about her family's health and happiness, the answers might not always be easy to hear.
irmelsa's review
4.0
Does a fantastic job of bringing the overwhelming nature of anxiety to a middle grade audience. Lovable characters and lots of charm.
wiseowl33's review
5.0
I loved this book! Woohoo! I laughed, I cried, I had a great time! This is what a great book should be.
mothradio's review
4.0
All the Answers is full of spunk and surprise. Ava, a middle schooler, finds a magic pencil that can answer any factual question she writes down with it. Really, what's not to love? I enjoyed the characters thoroughly and the secret behind the pencil's magic caught me off guard in the best way. This book also delves into anxiety in an identifiable way while maintaining the kind of spirited tone you might expect from a story about a wierd, wacky, magic pencil.
gabs_myfullbookshelf's review
3.0
Read more of my reviews on My Full Bookshelf
This was a cute little story about a girl whose pencil starts giving her answers to questions she has. Cute, but not much more than that. There were some issues that I had with the story; especially the explanation given at the end to this whole thing.
Ava is a character that I didn't like or dislike. She tended to worry too much about things; while she told Ava they should put a limit on the questions they asked the pencil, she tended to ask a lot of questions herself, and a lot of those questions could have been lumped together to avoid wasting the lead. However, I did like that her voice didn't seem too childish; I thought the author made her sound her age.
Her friend Sophie was just terrible. She was not too bright in the first place; if you find a magic pencil that answers all of life's questions, best not to advertise it to your whole class. And why blame Ava for your boy troubles when it was kind of your fault in the first place? I didn't like her at all.
The plot was definitely unique; I don't think I've ever read anything about all-knowing pencils before. I would have asked the pencil some better things; if it answers all factual questions, wouldn't that mean that it would answer questions like, "What is the cure for cancer," and things a lot less trivial then which boy likes you? But, hey, this is a middle grade book. So I'll let it pass.
I'm not really sure that the explanation given for why the pencil speaks makes much sense. I guess maybe I was looking for more of a scientific-sounding reason--something that could make me suspend disbelief and say, "okay, that's not possible but it sounds like it could be," (kind of like [b:Things Not Seen|542752|Things Not Seen (Things, #1)|Andrew Clements|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327910708s/542752.jpg|322502]) but what we got was a very strange and baffling answer. I don't know if I liked it all that much.
This wasn't one of my favorite books, but I think it will appeal to younger readers. It has a hint of whimsicality combined with realistic life, and the plot is fun. There's a few plot holes for older readers, though.
This was a cute little story about a girl whose pencil starts giving her answers to questions she has. Cute, but not much more than that. There were some issues that I had with the story; especially the explanation given at the end to this whole thing.
Ava is a character that I didn't like or dislike. She tended to worry too much about things; while she told Ava they should put a limit on the questions they asked the pencil, she tended to ask a lot of questions herself, and a lot of those questions could have been lumped together to avoid wasting the lead. However, I did like that her voice didn't seem too childish; I thought the author made her sound her age.
Her friend Sophie was just terrible. She was not too bright in the first place; if you find a magic pencil that answers all of life's questions, best not to advertise it to your whole class. And why blame Ava for your boy troubles when it was kind of your fault in the first place? I didn't like her at all.
The plot was definitely unique; I don't think I've ever read anything about all-knowing pencils before. I would have asked the pencil some better things; if it answers all factual questions, wouldn't that mean that it would answer questions like, "What is the cure for cancer," and things a lot less trivial then which boy likes you? But, hey, this is a middle grade book. So I'll let it pass.
I'm not really sure that the explanation given for why the pencil speaks makes much sense. I guess maybe I was looking for more of a scientific-sounding reason--something that could make me suspend disbelief and say, "okay, that's not possible but it sounds like it could be," (kind of like [b:Things Not Seen|542752|Things Not Seen (Things, #1)|Andrew Clements|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327910708s/542752.jpg|322502]) but what we got was a very strange and baffling answer. I don't know if I liked it all that much.
This wasn't one of my favorite books, but I think it will appeal to younger readers. It has a hint of whimsicality combined with realistic life, and the plot is fun. There's a few plot holes for older readers, though.