This is a sweet book. I always appreciate authors who write about characters who grow up attending church. Church going kids want to see themselves in books too. However, that plays no part in whether the book is actually compelling. I didn’t find this story to be all that exciting. The characters, especially the pastor/father, don’t have much depth.

Grace and her father have been very close, since her mother died. She’s perfectly happy for it to remain just the two of them. But some older women in her father’s congregation think otherwise. And just like that the book goes south. Pastor Davey, acting like he has no brain of his own, begins dating. Grace ropes in her friend Bea to help sabotage the dates. Again, the pastor acts clueless about what’s going on. Then, on a dime, Grace changes her mind and begins helping her dad. Sort of. Because through all of this, she realizes it’s her history teacher, Miss O’Connor, who would be the perfect mom/wife. Her father resists this pairing because he already knows Miss O’Connor quite well and thinks it would be awkward. So he resists the obvious through the entire book, then sees the light.

This book would have faired much better as a shorter book for younger children. Lower elementary, not upper. The characters just don’t have enough personality, and believability to keep the target audience interested. And the depiction of church with these older women advising the pastor and coordinating silly church functions is quite outdated. You have to go back to the 1980s for this to be the norm and be somewhat relatable.

I loved that this talked about how a child might feel about their dad starting to date again after the loss of their mom. The relationship between Grace and her dad was so sweet and strong. Miss O’Connor was a lot of fun and I’m glad Grace grows to like the idea of her dad dating her. I love a good parent/child bond and I also really enjoyed Grace and Bea’s friendship. I will definitely pick up from Niki Lenz in the future.

Grace and her father make the perfect team and an even better two-person family. So, when her father starts to date again, with bright hopes of a future marriage, Grace will do anything to prevent that from happening. From thinking up pranks to sabotaging her father's efforts, Grace is hard pressed to keep herself safe from potential stepmothers.

Grace is a young, but very self confident girl. She and her dad are history nerds, sharing a love of history facts and everything presidential. They fit perfectly together, and Grace knows that a third wheel will ruin it. When her dad starts going out and tries dating potential stepmothers, Grace, with the help of her best friend, implement pranks to sabotage her father's chances.

This book had some good themes about life changes and family relationships. Grace went through a nice learning curve throughout the story.

My Thoughts
My stepson was a single Dad to his daughter for a few years. They were quite the dynamic duo! This book piqued my interest because my granddaughter, while younger at the time than the girl in this book, also struggled a bit with the idea of a stepmom. While she eventually came around and ended up with a wonderful stepmom, I wish this book was available back then for her to read. But I’m glad it is here now for new children to read. Here are my pros and cons for The Stepmom Shake-Up:

Pros

1. The girl is Grace, the dad is Davy – they call themselves Team Gravy! How cute is that?!

2. Grace is a history nut. I loved that! There are random history facts in the story, particularly Presidential trivia, so you just might learn something! Grace and her Dad even cosplay Teddy and Alice Roosevelt!

3. This is a Missouri book! There are a lot of Missouri references to cities, events, etc. I live in Missouri (and I discovered the author lives in Missouri, too) so I really enjoyed that! Plus, that made me feel an even stronger connection to my stepson and granddaughter since they are Missourians, also.

4. This book is full of corny Dad jokes. Some are hilarious, some are groaners, but all are fun!

5. Grace and her friend pull some innocent pranks on Dad’s dates to try to deter them from sticking around. The pranks were humorous and generally harmless, but I loved that Dad didn’t just ignore Grace’s misbehavior and used the situations as teaching moments for Grace to understand she was not behaving properly.

6. The relationship between Grace and her Dad was really great. They were a good team and throughout the story they both learned to listen and appreciate the other’s point of view about a new person in their lives. Communication is always key and I felt like this book reinforced that well.

7. There is a side story with Grace’s friend Bea that is also great. I’ll just say that Bea’s home life is going through some extreme changes also. I appreciated that the book depicted two types of family changes that can have emotional and psychological impacts on children. And I loved that the parents were instrumental in helping both girls understand and get through the changes successfully.

Cons
None. I truly enjoyed it.

Summary
Stepmothers are never portrayed positively in Disney movies and I believe that definitely influences how children think of them! This book is the antidote to that! I mentioned earlier that I wished this book was available when my granddaughter was going through the uncertainty and mixed emotions of having a stepmom. I remember telling her that her Dad would never pick someone to marry if he wasn’t positive she be a great stepmom for her. I think she knew that somewhere deep down, but that is hard to understand as a child and change is always scary! If you (or someone you know) are going through something similar, you might want to consider this fun, heartfelt book. It might help the parent and the child understand and cope with the upcoming changes.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing an ebook, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Grace and her dad are Team Gravy but when her dad decides to start dating again, will things go smoothly or will Grace and her best friend have a few tricks up their sleeves to sabotage his dates? And what happens when the perfect woman comes along for her dad? Will they be able to pull off the ultimate "trick" and get a happy family again?

The Stepmom Shake-Up is a feel-good early grade story about loss, emotions, growing up, parents, love, and acceptance. 12 year old Grace is determined to set her dad up with her history teacher Ms. Olivia O'Connor. Hi-jinks both funny and serious ensue. Nice add-in of Teddy Roosevelt historical facts. Would be nice to have a little background about her friend Bea, as well as the beginnings of Team Gravy. There is a touch of religion/god but it is not heavy-handed. This story is very innocent and has a happy ending for Grace.

When a parent dies, the child in the relationship usually grows closer than before with the parent left living. Such is the case with Grace and her dad Davy. So close that when Davy decides to start dating again, Grace isn't too thrilled. She decides to do Parent Trap style things to sabotage her Dad's dates until one lady that Grace likes, her teacher, comes into the picture. I loved that the story was set in Missouri, as I live in St Louis so the points made about certain things made me enjoy it even more. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy, all opinions are my own.

This was a great little story that reminded me of the Parent Trap. I loved the fun loving story and the cover. The use of a parent being a minister worked well. I didn't feel like the book preached at the kids so I would feel comfortable recommending this one to everyone. The story would make a great movie and I think kids will have a fun time reading it. I know my 9 year old did.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a cute take on finding a parent a partner after the death of a spouse. I like how we were introduced to the dad and daughter so that we can see how well they are doing with one another after the death of the wife/mom. A very lighthearted and sweet story that was just the right read when you need a break from reality.

“Team Gravy to Team Groovy”

I absolutely LOVED this book. An uplifting story between father and daughter (Davy and Grace), where two of them wanted to have a complete family again and moved on from their life since the mother passed away. It such an honest feeling of a sixth grader point of view where Grace didn’t want another woman to entered their perfect life as a team. Grace knew she couldn’t do anything except sabotaged the father’s dating moments. Not to mention the daughter’s best friend, who actually the best partner of her to make up some plans. Family, friendships, sacrifices, all valuable elements mixed up together with sweet, joy “Shake-up” kind of story.

I also admired how the author write how smart and intelligent Grace is for learning the history of Teddy Roosevelt and his families. This part also one of the factor where Grace being inspired to always be brave, be strong and more positive quotes that she can adopted for her life. I personally had my eyes more open for history lesson from this book. Thank you Niki Lenz for putting special part of more inspirational quotes from some of the early United States Presidents in this book.

I recommend this book for everyone, not just middle grade readers, but everyone! Let’s enjoy the honest, smart and sweet journey of Grace to find her Team Groovy in this book.

Grace, sixth grader girl who loves her father very much, part of a Team Gravy with her father, who suddenly just realized there were those people were paying attention at her father’s loves life. And those people were the one who attended the First Baptist Church where her father worked as a pastor there. Grace then found out by herself that her father’s was actually “really lonely” and she wanted to make him happy too. Unfortunately some of her father’s dating wasn’t what Grace expecting, and she was afraid that her life and time will soon be gone as soon as her father’s find the right one. Since then, along with Bea’s helped, she planned some sabotaged plan for her father’s dating moment. What will happen after that, did Grace succeed to shake-up the feature stepmom?

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children for the eARC of this book

TEAM GRAVY! I love a good father-daughter team and The Stepmom Shake-Up has a great one. Grace's father might finally be ready to start dating after the death of her mother a few years ago, but Grace sure is not. She takes it upon herself to sabotage his dates and love life. While this makes for some hilarious antics, the bigger theme here is the love between a father and daughter and what it means for them to be moving on and inviting someone else into their lives.

There is something in this story for everyone, but especially kids with deceased/divorced parents.

The Stepmom Shake-Up is for anyone looking for a light-hearted novel about real-life families. It tells the story of a daughter and father looking to move on in their lives after the passing of their mother. The father finally decides he is ready to date, and things get crazy as changes really start to hit the family. In a shake-up fashion, the family is able to embrace the surprises changes that come their way and find the missing piece to their family.

When Grace discovers that her dad is going to start dating, she decides to make sure the dates turn out disastrous, since she’s grown accustomed to the family unit being two people. And she’s not looking forward to the possibility of changing the status quo of Dad and Grace.

So Grace, a feisty 12-year-old, sabotages her dad’s dates in very embarrassing and unkind ways. However, she sees everything as being necessary, and even somewhat hilarious.

In time she realizes that her dad is lonely, so she does an about-face and insists that he date who she has in mind. After all, she has the perfect match. Unfortunately, Dad is too nervous to ask Olivia, Grace’s teacher and one of his best friends, out on a date.

What Concerned Me
Unfortunately, it didn’t end up being the age-old plot that bothered me, it was the characters. While some children might laugh at Grace’s attempts to sabotage the dates, I felt they were very disrespectful to her dad, who is the pastor of the church where one event took place.

If you’ve noticed how many advertisements on TV have kids telling adults what insurance to buy, what car is best, etc., you’ll understand my next big concern. In time Grace decides her dad should date Olivia. But the problem is that Dad is nervous about asking Olivia, so Grace advises him that it’s time for him to become brave and take a risk. But when he replies that he will be brave since he will do just about anything for Grace, she tells him that he should be brave because it’s what he wants and who he is. He chuckles and says he may need Grace’s help to get Olivia to fall for him.

And in regard to Olivia, in one scene she walks toward Grace and her dad. Grace thought she might be wanting to hug them. Instead, Olivia’s hands fly to her mouth and she “barfs” all over both of them. (Does that sound reasonable that you’d walk toward someone if you were feeling sick?) And then when Grace, who is by now happy for Olivia to be a possible step-mom, asks her dad to be nice to Olivia. He replies that he’s always nice and he’s letting the lady who puked all over him lie on his couch. (Again, this is supposed to be the pastor of a church. It just doesn’t sound like what an adult might say.)

At the risk of sounding prudish, I wasn’t a fan of Grace referring to her dad as a jerk or . . . well, honestly there wasn’t a whole lot I did like about her.

Grace gets corrected for almost nothing. When a toddler, that Grace and her friend are watching, gets in the diaper bag and pours baby oil all over their kitchen floor, everyone ends up sliding around on it, falling, and laughing, including Dad.

The 12-year-old character that I’m liking less and less also swipes the church van and drives away in it because she’s unhappy. And after all, she’s watched video games so she is sure she can figure out how to drive. Yep, and she ends up hitting a deer.

And throwing rocks at the church’s door because you’re unhappy, I guess that’s the thing to do too. And even referring to her dad as a jerk didn’t really set well with me.

I feel like I should apologize since I’ve never spoken this harshly about any book that I’ve reviewed. And I do hate to ever ever speak poorly about something that an author has put long hours into. But what concerns me more is that this is a book for kids. Kids who are still developing and learning. And even if it was meant to be more of a funny story, I still have too many concerns.

What I Liked Most
I would say the most likable character was Olivia (though she obviously doesn’t know to head to the bathroom if she’s feeling sick). She seemed to be compassionate and understanding. Yet she was still able to be a little stern with Grace. Yes, by far she was my favorite character.

And many young readers will no doubt love Grace’s antics and acting out. Both she and her dad stick their tongues out at each other. Grace’s use of words like barf and snot often appeal to middle-grade readers. But I guess what I’m doing here is saying this is what some kids might like, not me.

The ending of the story does make me smile since it’s always good to think a new family unit is heading toward happiness.

The Stepmom Shake-Up tells the story of Team Gravy (Grace and her dad, Dad) as they navigate Pastor Davy starting to date again after his wife (and Grace's mom) has passed away. Grace and her best friend Bea get into all sorts of shenanigans in this adorable, middle grade novel.

Ever since Grave's mom has passed, her father Davy and her have become close. So lose that they are known as Team Gravy. But hen members of the church convince Davy to start dating again, Grace is reading for sabotage. Not wanting to lose her father, Grace with the help of her bff Bea work hard to make sure the dates fail. That is until Grace finds someone she would love to have as a stepmom even if her father doesn't know it yet.

As an adult reading this book, I found it totally predictable. However, if a child was reading this book I think they would love it. The antics that Grace gets caught up in are 100% kid created and doable. I think kids will be able to relate to Grace and want to join in on help her ruin her father's dates. A quick fun read for all ages.

Another solid win thanks to Netgalley and Random House!!! I originally requested this book because I thought if it was good I would share it with my daughter as well. It definitely did not disappoint. Here are some of the things that I really loved:
-Dad jokes and puns (These are a favorite for me)
-A single dad and daughter duo with a strong relationship (I don't often read books with this perspective)
-Faith being prominently featured (For some this may not be as important, but I love putting books in my children's hands that feature our faith)
This isn't just a book I will pass on to my daughter, but a book I really enjoyed reading. It was quirky, fun, and heartwarming. Although she wouldn't admit it herself, my daughter has that sass that Grace showed throughout the book. Her sabotage attempts were something I could see her undertaking easily.

Grace and her dad (Davy) have been Team Gravy since the tragic loss of her mother. Her dad is the pastor of their Baptist church and the mother hens at church have been clucking about a new wife for the pastor. Does her dad really want to date or is he just humoring the church ladies? If there is to be a stepmom, what will that mean for Team Gravy? Could they become team Groovy (Grace + Olivia - the beloved history teacher + Davy)? Like Bernice Buttman, Grace is a regular girl who makes mistakes and has to face consequences. Her friend Bea is a saint and sticks with Grace to help to protect her from some of the more outlandish schemes that are concocted in the "stepmom shake-up." Love, love, love the characters and all the presidential facts throughout. Such a fun idea to add in cosplay for Team Gravy and have them dress up as Teddy & Alice Roosevelt. Hurray for #localauthors.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Grace and her pastor dad Davy have adjusted to life without her mom and make a great team--Team Gravy. However, when two meddling gossips from his church tell Pastor Davy that he needs to begin dating again, Grace decides that she will make sure that the team stays in tact, without any additions to it--or one that she chooses herself.

Readers are likely to enjoy Grace's antics, but that may be all. The characters in this book feel like two-dimensional, flat stereotypes, and the plot feels forced and contrived. While the reader may understand that Grace's father is lonely, it is hard to believe that he would transition from not dating at all to suddenly becoming a dating machine just because two gossipy church ladies mention to him that he needs to begin going out again. The plot does not feel as though it has a natural, realistic progression, and the entire book suffers because of it.

All in all, not a recommended purchase.

***I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for providing an Advanced Readers' Copy (ARC) in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.***

Thank you to #NetGalley and Random House Children's Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of The Stepmom Shake-Up by Niki Lenz. This middle grades contemporary novel will be released in June 2020.

Grace and her dad, Davy, have been a team (Team Gravy) since her mother passed away. Grace is more than happy with their life together. They geek out out over presidential trivia, have nicknames for each other, are always working on a project together, and plan and take road trips to fun historical sites. That all changes when Grace's dad starts dating again. At first, Grace is not happy and she pairs up with her best friend, Bea, to sabotage her dad's dates. Then she realizes that her dad is actually lonely and the perfect woman is already in his life, so she uses her mastermind for pranks to try to bring them together.

This was a super fun middle grades novel that really reminded me of the movie "The Parent Trap." I loved that Grace, her dad, and Miss O'Conner are all fans of history. Though this book has funny moments full of pranks and hi-jinks, it also deals with the topics of parenting, the child/parent relationship, and changing family dynamics. Through trial and error, Bea's family, and delving deeper into Theodore Roosevelt's (Grace's favorite president) history, Grace is able to see that a stepmom and a change in her family might not actually mean disaster. This book made me laugh and I think many middle grade readers will enjoy it.

After the initial shock and grief from her mother's death, Grace and her dad, Davy, (aka "Team Gravy") have taken care of themselves rather well. All that changes when Grace overhears to old busybodies from church confront her dad to encourage him to start dating again. Grace is hurt and offended to think that anyone else thinks they need help from a new mother, and even more hurt when her dad gently tells her he is lonely and would like to start dating again. As Davy begins dating, Grace and her best friend plot and scheme to ruin the dates and make Davy realize he doesn't need anyone outside of Team Gravy. Then Grace realizes there is a perfect woman out there for her dad, and it is someone she can also love and welcome into her family.

Very sweet story with lots of opportunities to giggle throughout! This book gently reveals that changes in family composition can be difficult at first, but after the initial "shake-up," can be exactly what was needed after all. Grace reminds me a little of K.D. McCrite's April Grace or Meg Cabot's Allie Finkle.