Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

This is a story with an unreliable narrator so it's difficult to know what's true and what's inaccurate. Mimi has overhead bits and pieces of conversations and seems to know just enough to have put together her own version of events...but is it accurate? A look at loss, coping, family, and friendship.

Definitely a fantastic edition to 3rd-4th grade classrooms! You might want to also have a non-fiction book or two on mimes to go along with this novel.

This is a cute book for middle school children. Eliza's dad has left, to join the circus (so we're told) and Eliza's is willing to do anything to prove she is extraordinary enough to be in the circus too. Told from the view of a child who is dealing with quite a few changes in her life, this is a fast, fun read for kids.
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a very cute read! I think kids will enjoy this while also learning about ways to cope. It handled various topics very well.

Harvey and the Extraordinary
By: Eliza Martin
Publisher: Annick Press Ltd.
To be published: 11/2/21
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted this book by Netgalley in exchange for am honest review.

I don't talk about it often enough, but I am a sucker for a good middle grade novel! This one did not disappoint.

Mimi loves looking for the extraordinary in things, like blue raspberry candy, her hampster Harvey, and her dad that left to join the circus. Mimi, wanting to discover her own extraordinary destiny, works on an act with the help of her grandma, hamster, and her ex-best friend. She wants it to be perfect for her dad's return.
I like how this book dealt with family, friendship, school difficulties, and loss in subtle ways. It was gentle and magical. It really made me start looking for the extraordinary right alongside Mimi.

Mimi is a gem and so is this book! This quick, middle-grade read, gives a peek into the inner workings of a child dealing with loss and the stories we tell ourselves to cope. This is an extraordinary work for teaching empathy and resilience, and should have a place on every classroom library shelf.

This is one of those stories where we have an unreliable narrator, so we don't know the truth of the situation, other than something happened to Mimi's father, and in her mind, he joined the circus, and insists that is where he is, and he will return, when she is just as extraordinary as he is.

So, how to prove that she is extraordinary? By putting on a show that will be just as good as the circus.

Half heard conversations. Hints amongst the adults leads one to think that her father didn't join the circus.

Very quick read. But it helped that the mystery of what happened, and what would happen next, kept me going.

Good for the elementary school/ middle school age group, where these adult things happen around them, while they try to make sense of it all.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>