Name: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
ISBN: 9781432873486

Dusti Bowling

New friends and a mystery help Aven, thirteen, adjust to middle school and life at a dying western theme park in a new state, where her being born armless presents many challenges.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Aven Green was born without arms--so when her dad takes a job running a dying western theme park in Arizona, she knows she'll become the center of unwanted attention at her new school. But she bonds with Connor, a classmate with his own disability to conquer. Then they discover a room at the park that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. Can Aven face her fears, solve a mystery, and help her friend, too?

Sarah Sammis

When you have no arms, you have to eat with your feet. At Aven's old school, she sat with friends. Here she feels like she's on display. So she tries to find somewhere quiet and alone to eat. It's there that she meets Connor, a kid who also eats alone.

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Lauren Tabor

This was just one of those random books I found that was available on my library’s audiobook app...and I’m so glad I decided to read it. I love stumbling across a book I know nothing about and choose to take a chance on it. 
This book was so lovely and heartwarming. It’s about a girl who was born without arms and moves to Arizona after her dad gets a new job and is thrown into a new school. She befriends a couple of boys who don’t have any friends and soon forms a tight bond with. Their friendship is admirable and precious and the lessons they learn are so important. It’s a good reminder I’m not judging someone when you know nothing about them and to be more accepting of people who are different than you. 5/5

Nadine 

Lovely upbeat story of a young girl born without arms who deals with what life has to offer & helps other peers with problems to get some of her resilience. Great MS start of year book with changing school and trying to fit in

Elska Bee

I don't usually read middle grade but have been in search of some lighter audiobooks to listen to while gaming and this was an amazing find!

It's light-hearted, fun, and the disability rep is outstanding. It's a little light on plot and the mystery portion isn't really as big a part of the book as the synopsis led me to believe. But that's okay! It's just a cute story about a 13 year old girl with a disability trying to fit in at a new school in a new town.

Highly recommend for any kids who want to read books exploring disability and friendship!

Lily D

Jeni Enjaian

I honestly expected this book to have a cactus for a protagonist or something similar. A protagonist born without arms but with an awesome wit and sarcasm leads this book instead. The cactus does make an appearance and also plays a metaphorical role in several different ways throughout the book making for an apt yet slightly deceptive title.
I enjoyed this book by Bowling even if everything did get tied up rather prettily with a neat little bow at the end, a little serendipity but not too much.
In a non-threatening way, Bowling encourages readers to face their own prejudices and evaluate whether they have any implicit bias and what they might do to change that

I definitely recommend this book.

Juliana Callahan

Very cute middle grade book. I liked the representation that the book provided but some parts were a bit far fetched, such as the mother finding Aven online or the whole tourist trap plot. It was still enjoyable and I'll read the next book, however I'm a bit tentative going into it

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

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