Reviews

Trouble with a Tiny t by Merriam Sarcia Saunders

1sarai's review against another edition

4.0

Westin is an eleven-year-old boy with ADHD. Sometimes Westin gets in trouble for having what he calls a “vacation brain.” His parents always argue about how to raise him but his uncle Marty was the only person who really understood him. When uncle Marty goes missing, out of curiosity, Westin goes through his uncle’s things and finds a magic pouch. It turns something imagined into a mini version in real life. Westin takes this pouch to his home where he accidentally makes his plastic T-rex into a real mini fighting T-rex who tries to eat him and in the process damages his room. Along the journey to get the T-rex back in the magic pouch, Westin creates more miniature real life things. All this magic on top of navigating his school life, friends, and protective parents forces Westin to learn and grow and realize the good things about his "vacation brain."

Overall this book was really fun. My favorite thing about this book is the humor. There were many parts that just had me laughing.

leahbrarian's review against another edition

3.0

Definitely engaging, with a strong portrayal of a character with ADHD and solid friendship/bullying storylines. Still, some of the plotlines felt unresolved, the disappearance of Westin's uncle being one major example. I also felt that there wasn't necessarily a longterm solution presented to Westin's problems in the classroom, and especially that there was no real change made to the behavior of his teacher consistently singled him out and avoided helping him; on the one hand, this is unfortunately likely to be realistic to many kids' experiences, but considering how neatly most other elements wrapped up, it felt a little jagged.

Recommend to readers who like something a little silly but don't mind a bit of heaviness.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

librarydosebykristy's review against another edition

4.0

This book was extremely notable to me because I can’t think of another book I’ve read where the main character has ADHD and the book really shows you how it affects every aspect of his life. West is in fifth or sixth grade and describes his brain as “vacation brain, “because it’s never working when he wants it to. His friends, teachers, and even some family members are often really frustrated with his hyperactivity, his impulsive behavior and his disorganization. I felt the author did a really good job portraying the frustrations that poor West has to deal with trying to navigate his life with ADHD. She doesn’t offer any tidy solutions but she does manage to deliver a solid middle grade realistic story with a little bit of magical realism thrown in.
I have had families at the library ask me for books about kids struggling with anxiety or ADHD or just having trouble with friends and school. This really hits all those topics and is also a fun and appealing story for young readers. Recommended for grades 3-6.

martereadsbooks's review

adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Divorced parents, ADHD rep