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    Five Things About Ava Andrews
    Five Things About Ava Andrews
    Five Things About Ava Andrews
    Audiobook7 hours

    Five Things About Ava Andrews

    Written by Margaret Dilloway

    Narrated by Joy Osmanski

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A heartfelt and funny story about a shy eleven-year-old who learns to manage her anxiety through improv classes—and discovers her activist voice. From Margaret Dilloway, author of Summer of a Thousand Pies, and perfect for fans of Sharon Draper, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, and Holly Goldberg Sloan.

    Eleven-year-old Ava Andrews has a Technicolor interior with a gray shell. On the inside, she bubbles with ideas and plans. On the outside, everyone except her best friend, Zelia, thinks she doesn’t talk or, worse, is stuck-up. What nobody knows is that Ava has invisible disabilities: anxiety and a heart condition.

    Ava hopes middle school will be a fresh start, but when Zelia moves across the country and Ava’s Nana Linda pushes her to speak up about social issues, she withdraws further. So Ava is shocked when her writing abilities impress her classmates and they invite her to join their improv group, making up stories onstage. Determined to prove she can control her anxiety, she joins—and discovers a whole new side of herself, and what it means to be on a team.

    But as Ava’s self-confidence blossoms, her relationship with Zelia strains, and she learns that it isn’t enough just to raise your voice—it’s how and why you use it that matters.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 9, 2020
    ISBN9780063000643
    Author

    Margaret Dilloway

    Margaret Dilloway is the author of Summer of a Thousand Pies and six other books for children and adults. She lives with her family in San Diego, where she performs long-form improv on three teams and writes and produces sketch shows. Margaret can be found online at www.margaretdilloway.com.

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    Reviews for Five Things About Ava Andrews

    4/5

    11 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5

      Sep 12, 2023

      This book is an absolutely fantastic portrayal of a tween with anxiety. I highly recommend this book to anyone with kids who have anxiety.
    • 4/5

      Oct 18, 2024

      Yes the themes are transparent, the educational value obvious. But it's still an engaging and fun read. What I found particularly noteworthy is that the author is challenged with the same conditions as Ava, but even though that would (one assumes) give her an informed perspective, she also reached out to her communities to get more background & details. I also see that she's written works for adults... I wonder if I'd like to consider them (her other children's book is on my list).

      So, one thing it got right is minding the difference between social anxiety and introversion. Thank you, Ms. Dilloway.

      It also made the complex challenge of becoming a long-distance friend believable. Not always do kids who move drift apart, but not always is it easy to stay friends, either.

      I was a bit exasperated that so few people actually showed up to the first hearing about the development - not even the shop owners? I suppose they were cynical and felt defeated, instead of motivated. Kids tend to have more optimism and energy, thank goodness.

      This would be a good book for group discussion. Thinking about the pov of Luke, and Ty, and the shop owners, the classroom teacher, and even the different perspectives of Jichan & Nana Linda, would give youngsters plenty of ideas to share.

      Bonus is that two excellent improv exercises (games) are described in the back matter.

      Highly recommended to anyone who wants to make friends or be a better friend, or who wants to fight developers or other bullies.