THE (SHORT) STORY OF MY LIFE

Sixth-grader Michael Jordan resents having to keep a journal for language arts; he has nothing to say about his life. Younger sister Emma: kind of bratty. Older brother Noah: sports star. He still loves them and their parents. The only unusual thing about Michael is that he’s quite short—and he hates it. Then he meets Macy, an older girl, and falls head-over-heels in love with her. She seems to like him back. He finds many ways to get closer to her; like pretending to do poorly in math so she’ll tutor him. When he finally gets up the courage to buy her a rose for her birthday, his best friend breaks the news that Macy actually likes Noah. Michael learns that being short isn’t so bad when he’s asked by the fire department to help them rescue one of the bullies from school who’s gotten stuck in a drainpipe. This is a sweet, well-intentioned tale with an engaging narrator. Readers will likely smile if not laugh at his stories. However, the ending is out of left field; no fire department would endanger a bystander. Readers will also know Macy likes Noah long before Michael, and the journal-writing subplot never gets closure. Not a first purchase, but also not a bad one. (Fiction. 9-13)