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pilesofadventure's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jbojkov's review against another edition
4.0
Nice middle grade read about a girl who loves movies, her actor Uncle Walt, and her best friend Cyrus who has lived across the street forever. Written in a straight-forward, relatable prose. Add a dash of diversity, dementia, job loss, and a mild love-triangle and you’ve got a recipe for an interesting story.
midnightbookgirl's review against another edition
4.0
I don't read a lot of Middle Grade books, and usually when I do, I'm drawn to fantasy. But the title caught my eye, and I really enjoyed the plot. Maisie, aka Hitchcock, loves movies- especially old movies, her movie actor Uncle Walt, and her best friend Cyrus. At twelve she's more interested in making movies about talking dog. So she is not down when Gary starts to hang out with her and Cyrus, and definitely not okay with Gary's crush on her, especially since Cyrus likes Gary as more than just a friend. Then her grandmother's memory starts to go bad, her mother loses her job and money is tight, and her Uncle has to move in with them after a bad injury (well, that's the part Maisie likes). That's a lot for a 12 year old to handle, and Maisie makes some mistakes, and her friends and family do too. It was really heartfelt and charming, and Maisie has excellent taste in movies! It definitely made me wish we had an old movie theater here that showed the classics!
booknrrd's review against another edition
3.0
A 2019-2020 Missouri Truman Readers Award preliminary nominee (grades 6-8).
Twelve-year-old film buff Maisie is having a rough summer. Her favorite uncle, a bit actor in Hollywood, has been staying with them, but he doesn't get along well with her mom. Money is tight. Grandma is acting strangely, and so is her best friend Cy and his new friend Gary.
This wasn't bad. I have trouble imagining 8th graders wanting to read about the relationship troubles of 12 year olds. I also have a 12 year old, and I couldn't picture him or his friends involved in this much angst. It felt like maybe the age was a little off. Otherwise I liked the rest of it and thought it dealt with its subject matter well.
Twelve-year-old film buff Maisie is having a rough summer. Her favorite uncle, a bit actor in Hollywood, has been staying with them, but he doesn't get along well with her mom. Money is tight. Grandma is acting strangely, and so is her best friend Cy and his new friend Gary.
This wasn't bad. I have trouble imagining 8th graders wanting to read about the relationship troubles of 12 year olds. I also have a 12 year old, and I couldn't picture him or his friends involved in this much angst. It felt like maybe the age was a little off. Otherwise I liked the rest of it and thought it dealt with its subject matter well.
lcrowe5112's review against another edition
3.0
Good in the moment but kept wanting more. Some delicate subjects handled realistically.
anunande's review
I picked this up from the volunteers table at the Boston Book Festival. Yesterday I finished Vassa in the Night at the awkward time of 8 pm which meant that I had an entire evening free to read another book, which is exactly what I did. This is an ARC, but it was a fun, breezy read, perfect for the middle grade age group and also relatable as adults who remember being that age :) As a bonus, there are tons of film references and discussions which I loved.
midnightbookgirl's review
4.0
I don't read a lot of Middle Grade books, and usually when I do, I'm drawn to fantasy. But the title caught my eye, and I really enjoyed the plot. Maisie, aka Hitchcock, loves movies- especially old movies, her movie actor Uncle Walt, and her best friend Cyrus. At twelve she's more interested in making movies about talking dog. So she is not down when Gary starts to hang out with her and Cyrus, and definitely not okay with Gary's crush on her, especially since Cyrus likes Gary as more than just a friend. Then her grandmother's memory starts to go bad, her mother loses her job and money is tight, and her Uncle has to move in with them after a bad injury (well, that's the part Maisie likes). That's a lot for a 12 year old to handle, and Maisie makes some mistakes, and her friends and family do too. It was really heartfelt and charming, and Maisie has excellent taste in movies! It definitely made me wish we had an old movie theater here that showed the classics!
librarianelizabeth's review
3.0
A really solid middle-grade novel about complicated family and friends relationships. Definitely a coming-of-age story, and I'm impressed it encompasses a lot of different ways families and friends can be: with grandparents living at home, dealing with changes in a grandparent's memory, friends figuring out first crushes and what it all means. And the throughline about movies made me smile.
evila_elf's review
3.0
This was okay. It started out pretty good, but then started gradually going downhill.
The movie references felt a bit gratuitous. When everything is compared to a character, plot, or theme of a movie, not everyone is going to get those references. And I am not a classic movie fan, so a ton of them went over my head.
Maisie's self-centeredness made her unlikable. I am glad she changed some, but it took her a long time to get over herself. And her revolving thoughts about if she should like Gary or not got so tiring.
The movie references felt a bit gratuitous. When everything is compared to a character, plot, or theme of a movie, not everyone is going to get those references. And I am not a classic movie fan, so a ton of them went over my head.
Maisie's self-centeredness made her unlikable. I am glad she changed some, but it took her a long time to get over herself. And her revolving thoughts about if she should like Gary or not got so tiring.
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