A review by lexiww
Get Happy by Mary Amato

3.0

Minerva isn’t entirely surprised that her mom didn’t get her the ukulele she so desperately wanted for her sixteenth birthday. After all, birthdays have been a disappointment since her father left the family when she was a baby. But what is shocking was the confusing package she receives from her dad after all this time. Her life is complicated enough now that she’s landed a new job performing at children’s parties along with her hysterical best friend, a cute fellow classmate, and an insufferable new girl in town. Adding a long-lost father into the mix would be just too much. How could she possibly forge a relationship with him now, after so much time has passed? But the deeper she digs into her past, the more she realizes that the story she’s been told about her family isn’t totally true. Amato (Guitar Notes, 2012) once again strums a clever, heartfelt, and realistic story sure to appeal to musical tweens. Lyrics and chords for some of Minerva’s original tunes are included.— Lexi Walters Wright, First published October 1, 2014 (Booklist).