Book review - Under the Bottle Bridge

Title: Under the Bottle Bridge
Author: Jessica Lawson
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh
                      Finding Fortune by Delia Ray

Rating:

likeable

Summary (provided by publisher): In the tradition of Rooftoppers and Three Times Lucky, critically acclaimed author Jessica Lawson returns with her fourth whimsical, lyrical, and heartfelt middle grade novel about a girl who’s desperately trying to keep her life together, when everything seems to be falling apart.
In the weeks leading up to Gilbreth, New York’s annual AutumnFest, twelve-year-old woodcraft legacy Minna Treat is struggling with looming deadlines, an uncle trying to hide Very Bad News, and a secret personal quest. When she discovers mysterious bottle messages under one of the village’s 300-year-old bridges, she can’t help but wonder who’s leaving them, what they mean, and, most importantly…could the messages be for her?
Along with best friend Crash and a mystery-loving newcomer full of suspicious theories, Minna is determined to discover whether the bottles are miraculously leading her toward long-lost answers she’s been looking for, or drawing her into a disaster of historic proportions.

My opinion: At first, artisans seem an odd topic for a middle grade novel, even with artisanal products being trendy. That craftsman lifestyle lends a strangeness to the plot at first. But, these crafts and their roles in the town and in families are well explained so we quickly accept them as the normal of this world.And once we can accept that normal, its a surprisingly universal story of searching for the way you will define yourself, your understanding of family and parental and societal expectations. While the particulars are a little unusual, in the end we have the story of three kids facing parallel issues.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.