The Exceptional Maggie Chowder

November 2, 2020
In Renton, Wash., summer brings unexpected challenges to 12-year-old Maggie: her father loses his job and gets work acting on a low-budget web series, her mother takes a grocery store job, and the family sells their home to move to a “cozy” apartment near the grocer’s, where Maggie shares a room with her four-year-old brother Aaron, who is autistic. The arrival of her opinionated, comics-hating grandmother only makes things worse, as does Maggie’s best friend, LaTanya Richards, moving into a larger home courtesy of her father’s new job coaching the Seattle Seahawks. Despite the upheaval, Maggie is determined to follow the example of her comic book idol, fearless superhero Eagirl, and to become a forest ranger, just like Eagirl. When opportunity arises to attend Seattle Comic Con and compete for a chance to attend Forest Ranger Camp, Maggie begins to see that maybe things aren’t all bad. Lute’s narrative sensitively portrays Aaron’s autism, Maggie’s mixed feelings about her new home, and her frustration with changes beyond her control, while interspersed Eagirl comics by Valentine bring readers a glimpse of the feminist ranger hero whom Maggie hopes to become. Ages 9–12.

October 1, 2020

Gr 4 Up-This is the story of Maggie Chowder, who longs to be just like her favorite superhero, the Exceptional Eagirl. When her best friend leaves for a month in the summer, Maggie assumes nothing new will happen to either of them and cannot wait for her friend to return. Little does she know that both of their worlds are about to shift. This novel is all about change. Readers will empathize with the upheaval of Maggie's life when her father loses his job and they have to move from their large home to an apartment. While this novel speaks to change, it also spotlights the power of platonic and familial relationships . Maggie must find a way to support her dad in his new job, her brother in his new learning environment, and her best friend in her new life as a professional football coach's daughter. She must also learn how to bring joy to her life amidst everything going on around her. The addition of the Eagirl comics at the start of each chapter is sure to attract readers of graphic novels, as well as introduce them to new readers. VERDICT A heartwarming, funny story about family and friends; a worthy addition to middle-grade collections.-Tegan Anclade, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2020
Twelve-year-old Maggie Chowder had been looking forward to a promising summer in Renton, Washington. However, things get progressively worse after her father loses his job and takes an unpaid role in a web series to pursue his dream of acting. Several changes that Maggie is not ready for quickly follow: Her mother starts a stressful new job at a grocery store; the family moves from Maggie's beloved home to a small two-bedroom apartment, where she has to share a room with her 4-year-old brother, Aaron, who has autism; and to make matters worse, Maggie's comic-book-hating Grandma Barrel comes to visit and her parents cannot afford to send her to Junior Forest Ranger Camp although she desperately wants to become a ranger and protect the wilderness like her favorite comic-book character, Eagirl. Maggie finds that she is increasingly embarrassed about her family's situation, especially since her best friend, LaTanya Richards, moves into a fancy new house and gets a puppy after her father gets a job coaching the Seahawks football team. But with time Maggie learns the value of family and friends. Lute's well-rounded characters capture the difficulties of change, and Valentine's black-and-white comic strips featuring Eagirl mirror Maggie's feelings about her life. Maggie and her family seem to be White by default; LaTanya's ethnicity is not specified. Empathetic, realistic, and very enjoyable. (Fiction. 9-12)

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August 20, 2021
Grades 4-7 Maggie is a big fan of Eagirl, the environmental activist superhero from her favorite comic book. Aspiring to follow in the superhero's footsteps, Maggie becomes a junior ranger to look after the forest and its creatures. If only keeping her own life running smoothly were as easy. Change has been the name of the game lately, with Maggie's family moving from a spacious house to a two-bedroom apartment, her father quitting his stable job to pursue acting, her stay-at-home mom resuming work, and her little brother beginning therapy for his autism. What's more, her best friend just moved into the rich part of town! Just when Maggie feels like her life cannot get any worse, her difficult-to-please grandmother decides to visit for the rest of Maggie's summer vacation. What would Eagirl do in her shoes? Maggie makes some big mistakes during her summer of change, but she also begins to accept and embrace the new. The book includes great black-and-white comic book-style illustrations and snippets of the Eagirl comic. Laugh-out-loud hijinks combine with preteen growing pains for a heart-warming story of self-discovery.

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