The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee, by Barry Jonsberg
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The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee, by Barry Jonsberg
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Candice Phee isn't a typical twelve-year-old girl. She has more than her fair share of quirks, but she also has the very best of intentions and an unwavering determination to make sure everyone around her is happy. That includes you. Because you'll laugh out loud reading this charming, lovable novel. Candice's task is no easy feat when she's dealing with a pet fish with an identity crisis, a friend who believes he came from another dimension, an age-old family feud, and a sick mom. But she is on a mission! Her methods might be unique, but Candice will do whatever it takes to restore order to her world and make sure everyone is absolutely, categorically happy again.
The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee, by Barry Jonsberg - Amazon Sales Rank: #447199 in Books
- Published on: 2015-09-01
- Released on: 2015-09-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.25" h x .63" w x 5.63" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 244 pages
The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee, by Barry Jonsberg From School Library Journal Gr 4–6—Candice Phee's teacher assigned a 26 paragraph (each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet) long essay on something that has happened in the past. But quirky and literal-minded Candice is unable to express her life in such a concise fashion. Instead, she produces a chapter for each, outlining the unexpected death of her younger sister, an ongoing family feud, a neighbor who claims to be from another dimension, and her pet fish. As she writes, she strives to bring her cherished sense of order to the lives of her loved ones by fixing their problems through one grand gesture at a time. Candice is a strong central character, full of personality and a desire to bring happiness to those around her at any cost. The interwoven plots create a rich story, covering a wide expanse that includes loss of a loved one, a caretaker's depression, (possible) brain injuries, and unexpected friendships. The humor laced throughout can be uneven at times, moving from a serious moment to absurd imagery so quickly that readers may need to take pause. Candice takes similar hairpin turns from being incredibly literal, fact-focused and cognizant of social cues, to making large lapses in judgment. The issue of her seemingly ignored pen pal letters, interspersed throughout the alphabetical chapters, also ties up a bit too neatly at the end. This is a strong readalike for Counting by 7s (Dial, 2013) and Out of My Mind(S. & S., 2010).—Nicole Signoretta Sutton, Kingston Elementary School, Cherry Hill, NJ
Review "Jonsberg has created a memorable heroine in Candice, whose determined attempts to heal her family and understand her place in the world will stick with readers."--Publishers Weekly"Candice is a strong central character, full of personality."-School Library Journal"You'll like this book AND love it."--Elizabeth Bird, A Fuse #8 Production, a School Library Journal blog"Readers would have to have stone-cold hearts to not root for Candice to succeed."--Booklist"A heartfelt and humorous novel sure to resonate with any kid that feels different-and as Candice's story reveals, that's almost everyone."-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"Candice Phee is a memorable character and one that many readers will likely want to befriend."--Kidsreads
About the Author Barry Jonsberg is a multiple award-winning writer of young adult and middle-grade novels. He lives and teaches in Darwin, Australia.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. ABC, easy as 123 By E. R. Bird It often takes a while to figure out when you’re falling in love with a book. A book is a risk. You’re judging it from page one onward, informed by your own personal prejudices and reading history. Then there’s this moment when a shift takes place. It might be a subtle shift or it might be sudden and violent but all of a sudden it’s there. One minute you’re just reading for the heck of it, and the next you are LOVING what you’re reading, hoping it never has to end. Happily, that was my experience with Barry Jonsberg’s The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee. Lots of books promise you that you’ll fall in love with their odd characters. They’ll say something along the lines of “You won’t like her – you’ll love her.” And usually that’s untrue. But in this case, I really do love Candice. How can you not? She wants to turn her fish atheist, for crying out loud. And on that note . . .In Candice’s own words, her family could not be considered, “front-runners for Australian Happy Family of the Year.” Her baby sister died years ago, her mother is depressed, her father is angry with his brother (sure that the man got rich on one of his ideas), and her Rich Uncle Brian is a lonely cuss. She’s kind of an odd kid in and of herself. The kind that doesn’t have a lot of friends but doesn’t mind the fact. There are other problems, of course. She worries that her fish has set her up as a false god. She worries that her friend Douglas, who seriously believes he’s from another dimension, intends to throw himself into a gorge. But at least she has her pen pal (who has never written back, but that’s no problem) to write to. And as Candice says, “I want to pursue happiness. I want to catch it, grab it by the scruff of the neck, drag it home, and force it to embrace all the people I mentioned above. I’m just not sure how to accomplish this. But I am determined to try.”The thing you have to admire about Candice is that she’s a remarkably proactive protagonist. When she’s sick and tired of the broken state of her family she sets out to correct their problems (sometimes with odd results). When she thinks there’s a possibility of a friend doing something stupid she will put herself in harm’s way (or at least, annoyance’s way) to help him out. She’s smart as a whip, a fact that no one around her notices. And Candice is also a relentless optimist, but not in an annoying way. She has no interest at all in what you think of her. Early in the book she mentions that she has lots of friends as far as she’s concerned but that, “As far as everyone else was concerned, I didn’t have a friend in the world. Does that make a difference? I’m not sure.” Kids have so many bully books these days that it’s a huge relief to read one where the mean girl teases Candice and the words have absolutely zippo effect on her whatsoever. Like Teflon in a way, is this kid. Bullied kids make for dull reading. Candice is never dull.She’s also not autistic. I feel like that kind of statement shouldn’t be as revolutionary as it is. Heck, it’s practically self-explanatory. We’re so used to kids on the autism spectrum in our children’s literature these days that we have a hard time remembering the ones that are just plain old weird. But they exist. In fact, Candice self-diagnoses as weird. When she was young she witnessed her beloved baby sister’s death from SIDS and it mucked her up in a couple ways. Not as many ways as her mother and father, but a lot of ways just the same. So there’s a wonderful scene where a friend’s mother makes the assumption that Candice is autistic. When she says that she is not the friend’s mom asks, “Then what are you?” “I’m me.” That could come off as cute. Here, for whatever reason, it does not.I’ve already heard a couple people compare this book to Holly Goldberg Sloan’s book Counting By 7s which is understandable, if somewhat misleading. There are some major differences at work. First off, there’s the language. There’s a distinct deliciousness to Candice’s speech patterns. When her uncle wins her a stuffed toy at a fair that “might have been a gnu or a camel with severe disabilities” she tells him in no uncertain terms that it is “vile”. And then the descriptions in the book are also out of his world. A forced smile is described as “one of those smiles when someone has pointed a camera at you for half an hour and neglected to press the shutter.” Her friend Douglas is described as, “His eyes crowd toward the middle, as if they are trying to merge together but are prevented from doing so by the barrier of his nose, which is larger than you’d wish if you were designing it from scratch.” Her mother’s bedroom where she spends much of her time when depressed “smelled of something that had spent a long time out of the sunshine.”Candice’s problems don’t just disappear miraculously in a puff of smoke either. By the end of the book she’s figured out how to mend some of the bigger problems that have been undermining her family’s happiness, but her sister is still dead, her mother still has depression, and her father still resents his brother. Things are significantly better, but there’s a long road to hoe. It is amazing that a book with this many potentially depressing subplots should be as upbeat, cheery, and downright hilarious as this. Jonsberg’s writing gives the book a skewed one-of-a-kind view of the world that is unlike any other you might encounter. You’ll like this book AND love it. And for what it’s worth, kid readers will too.For ages 9-12.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. CANDICE PHEE'S LIFE IS MORE THAN THE ALPHABET By Robin Leigh Morgan Before I start, it should be noted this book had been released previously in Australia under the title of "My Life as the Alphabet."In addition, I should point out that having read/review three rock romance novels by Nicky Wells, I've already became adjusted to the British spelling and usage of words contained in this book, which for some readers might take a little getting used to.When I first once opened the book and flipped through the pages I immediately got transported to the first grade [or was it Kindergarten] and had a primer to read. You know what I'm talking about; A is for Apple, B is for Boy, C is for Cat.As I read the first chapter of this book, "A is for Assignment," I immediately began to realize that you need to read as Barry Jonsberg meant it to be read. You need to read coming from the first person POV of Candice Phee herself, as she's the one who's actually writing this story.This came about because her teacher, Miss Bamford, had given her an assignment to write a simple essay consisting of twenty-six paragraphs with each paragraph starting a letter of the alphabet concerning something which had happened to you in the past. However, Candice, knowing she couldn't adequately tell her story in a mere twenty-six paragraphs, decided to write several paragraphs for each letter instead; and even mentioned she'd already written sixteen paragraphs for the letter "A" at one point. And as you might suspect she already envisioned having problems with the letters "Q" and "X."Candice's entire family seems to be dysfunctional as her father's despondent because a certain confrontation which had occurred eons ago; her mother's totally depressed to do a double mastectomy and having lost a child to SIDS. Her now rich Uncle Brian uses his wealth attempting to win other people's affection. And even though she has no idea whatsoever in terms of what she's doing, Candice is continuously trying to fix her family's multitude of problems on her own. It is because of this she seem to be the embodiment of being "quirky" in her personality.As we read subsequent chapter and letter of the alphabet, we see more and more of the episodic existence Candice has to endure to survive. I truly enjoyed reading this, the first of Barry Jonsberg's books I've had the pleasure to read. I feel it would be best suited to be read by children aged ten or more, and in the fifth grade. While the book would be something girls would tend to read more than boys--boys should not be forgotten as part of the audience of potential readers, since some of things Candice did, boys would be usually more apt to do than girls.I believe the US title for this book is more appropriate than its counterpart in Australia and the rest of the world since it more aptly describes Candice's world one letter of the alphabet at a time.I consider myself privileged to have received a free ARC [Advanced Reader's Copy - Uncorrected] copy of this book, which I got as part of GoodRead's GiveAway program. The above has been my honest opinion regardless the manner I've received this copy of the book. And I'm there happy to give "The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee" the 5 STARS it deserves.Robin Leigh Morgan is the author of "I Kissed a Ghost," a MG-YA Paranormal romance novel.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Quirky and deep! By Sylwia W My original review is here:[...]I. Does it represent/portray and do it well?Grief and depression are handled well and possibly also the autism spectrum and traumatic brain injury. I thought that these intense topics were covered appropriately and I was impressed by the mixture of dark topics with an accessible narrative.II. Does it teach me something or make me think?It made me wonder a lot about how things were going to turn out, so in that way it was intellectually thrilling. I think it also teaches a bit about positivity, especially in how the topics of depression and bullying are addressed.III. Does it perpetuate healthy ideals?I think that it does, in terms of focusing on healing, health, and family. I loved the focus on positivity and fighting to overcome depression.IV. How was the writing itself? (Style, plot, characters, ease of reading, pace, world-building.)Candice herself is very likable and the narrative style is engaging, clever, emotionally moving, and funny! Before I even realized, I genuinely cared about this entire family and I appreciated how I got to know the parents very slowly throughout the book. They went from being pieces of Candice’s life to being people I cared about just for themselves and their own issues. The pacing was perfect, the plot felt well-planned, and in general I felt like I was reading a very professional work from page 1 to page 242. There are ample subplots of which the resolutions could have ruined the book, but each one was handled with care. I will definitely be reading more work by this author.V. Did I enjoy reading it?Absolutely! There is nothing to complain about in this work and I emotionally and intellectually enjoyed each page! I strongly recommend it!
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