Review from American Author's Association
Olivia and the Little Way – Review for American Author's Association
by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
‘She hated feeling nervous, but she couldn’t help it. Today was the first day of fifth grade at her new school. Two big things in one day. She thought of all of the other kids at St. Michael’s School who were probably eating their breakfasts at the same time as she. They were lucky. They would be able to see all of their old friends. They would know their way around the hallways, know where to go for lunch, be able to find the bathrooms and drinking fountains. She’d be lost in a sea of new faces and new rules.’
Living in Houston, Olivia always looked forward to being able to visit her Grandma Rosemary in Michigan. But things had changed. She and her family would now be living in Michigan. She would be leaving her twobest friends Claire and Emily. She was not faced with making new friends in a new school.
Then Grandma came to the rescue with a beautiful chaplet that had been given to her years before. It was the St. Therese chaplet. Grandma explained to Olivia that St. Theresa the Little Flower was someone who had lived many years before and would always be there to listen to her when she needed someone to talk to. Olivia took great solace in knowing that even in a new town and new school, she would never be alone. But that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t still run into problems as she made herself comfortable in her new surroundings.
Reading Olivia and the Little Way made me realize that things never change. I can remember some of the problems that Olivia was faced with as she made new friends and worked at being accepted by the other kids in school. I can remember the trials of being tested to do things that I knew weren’t right. I can also remember what it cost me when I made the wrong decisions. Olivia and the Little Way is a book that would be wonderful read as a discussion book. Not only is this book helpful for young people that WILL eventually be faced with the same situations Olivia is faced with but it will also help adults remember how difficult it was for them when they had to make decisions of right and wrong at such a young age. Reading Olivia and the Little Way just might slow us all down enough to think about the outcome of anything that we do, good or bad. I recommend this book for ALL ages.
2010
Harvey House Publishing
216 Pages
ISBN# 978-0-923568-92-4
