I loved this! I went into this not knowing what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised by the story and characters. I have ADHD, so I'm always looking for great ADHD representation in books. I thought that it was represented very well here. I also think it's especially interesting watching Max work through his recent diagnosis and showing how it isn't. always going to be perfect, but having ADHD isn't a bad thing. The mystery was exciting and this sort of felt like a very young version of a Stephen King novel to me. My biggest gripe is with the pacing toward the end of the book. I felt like the mystery wrapped up super fast and the climax was a little lackluster compared to the rest of the book. That being said, I still gave this 4.25 stars and think a lot of kids will enjoy it! Especially good for kids who are into mysteries or thrillers.

Wow - this story grabbed me from the first page. It's a perfectly paced mystery with a compelling protagonist who is flawed yet well-meaning and highly relatable. 11-year-old Max is big for his age and is often expected to act older than he is. His recent diagnosis of ADHD and visits to a therapist are helping him understand why he does some of the things he does in his daily life as well as cope with the guilt and shame he's feeling after his best friend ended up in a coma after the "accident." Knowing who to trust and the importance of honesty and being true to yourself are major themes as Max tries to figure out what really happened the night of the accident. I highly recommend this book to older middle-grade readers who like empathy-building books that make you feel and think.

What a fun (and insightful) book! A Perfect Mistake begins with Max starting 6th grade. One best friend is in a coma in the hospital, and his other best friend isn't speaking to him. Max desperately wants to find out what happened that night in the forest when Will turned up unconscious.

With the help of a new friend, Sam (Samantha), he sets out to put the pieces together and hopefully remember something that just might break open the case.

This book is a twisting mystery as Max and Sam work to figure things out, but this book is so much more than that. Throughout, Max is dealing with his newly diagnosed ADHD. He struggles to not feel like a failure when he just can't function the way his mom thinks he should. Everyone in his family seems perfect, except for him. But sometimes things aren't always as they seem.

I appreciated the glimpses into some of the methods that Max uses to cope with his ADHD, and I also appreciated the idea that no one is perfect. Just because we can't see someone else's struggles, doesn't mean they aren't there.

The characters are all well-developed, and this book does such a great job of building empathy for all of them-even the characters you don't want to like. The world needs more of that.

I recommend this book to all lovers of adventure, lovers of mystery, lovers of middle grade, and lovers of a plain old good, well-written book.

I really enjoyed this book. The main character Max reminded me of my own son, who has a few "quirks" of his own and also grew very tall at age eleven. While I was happy to see my son's growth spurt, it never occurred to me how it might have affected him, until I read this book. My son's voice also changed at age 11, which made him feel uncomfortable in his own body. I think readers will be able to identify and sympathize with Max. And I also know they will enjoy the mystery of A Perfect Mistake. One of my favorite things about the book is when Max says, "Imagine you...." This is also something my son does a lot. This book will make a great read for middle grade kids and also for any adult who wants to better understand them.

Thank you to the author and publisher for sending me an ARC of this book which releases on July 6th.

This is a middle-grade mystery about a group of boys who go out one night, but one ends up fighting for his life in the hospital. Max ran away from the woods when things got intense, but now he wonders what really happened to his friend, Will, who was found unconscious. He blames himself for leaving Will behind, but his attempts to talk to the other boys who were there that night result in threats for him to shut up. Max takes it upon himself to solve the mystery along with a budding young journalist, and as the facts slowly come to light, he discovers a web of lies and secrets.

What I enjoyed most about this story was I couldn’t predict everything involved in the mystery of Will’s injury. The story moved quickly as new facts continued to appear and kept the reader engaged. I also like how the author handled Max’s new ADHD diagnosis and the strategies and therapist recommendations that she was able to incorporate without sounding preachy. As someone who has a child with ADHD, I often noticed Max’s impulsivity and how his choices contributed to pushing the investigation forward when told to leave it to the police. There is a need for more stories with a male protagonist focusing on male friendships, and the in-depth look at Max’s inner world adds depth to the story.

This would be an excellent addition to any middle-grade collection, and I certainly plan to purchase it for my library.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this title.

It's easy to get caught up in what ifs, but figuring out how to move on and move beyond can be true tests of mettle. This story does a great job working through all the emotions and fall out when a friend has a serious accident, especially one that involves other kids. This will be a great addition to classroom shelves.

This must-read middle grade title is “perfect” and I know we will need multiple copies in the library. A Perfect Mistake by Melanie Conklin comes out in July 2022 and I cannot wait to read it with my students in the fall.

The story opens with Max writing a letter to his future self on the first day of sixth grade. Max is wondering about his friend (former friend?), Joey and why he won’t answer any texts. He does know it has to do with the night Will got hurt. Maybe it’s also because Max is too tall to be a sixth grader. Maybe it’s about Max’s ADHD and why he cannot remember what happened.
Maybe if he could just figure it all out, things can go back to normal. Not so fast, Max.

When the investigators run out of leads, Max finds that he is the only one who can help unravel the case. He is determined to help, even though some others don’t want him to figure out what really happened to Will. Max enlists Sam, a fellow classmate and journalist, to find out about that night when he left Will and Joey behind with the older kids in the woods, and why Will is still in a coma.

The pacing of this novel is perfect. With present-day scenes and flashbacks to “that night,” Melanie Conklin plots the moves of each friend and family member to push the reader to find out more, to solve the case.

The characters in this novel are NOT perfect, which makes this an ideal read for a middle schooler, especially a person with ADHD. I’ve never read a book that gives so much information while also weaving a fictional tale. The reader loves Max and his family and friends. Well, most of them. The reader comes to understand Max and feels for him from beginning to end, even when other characters mistake him for an adult because of his size or a fool because of his diagnosis.

A Perfect Mistake is a perfect addition to your library or home reading collection. Preorder this one!

Love this story. I was hooked immediately. This one will keep kids guessing all the way to the end. It's a real page Turner and the information about ADHD is an added bonus.

I loved this story about Max, a sixth-grader with ADHD who struggles to cope with an accident that has put one of his best friend's in a medically induced coma. The plot is fraught with tension as Max starts school under the burden of what happened to Will; his investigation to find out the truth kept me turning the pages. Also of note, Max has already been diagnosed and is learning to cope with ADHD, making this book a nice complement to others that are about a child having a hard time in school and getting diagnosed. Melanie Conklin's writing is so clean and tight in Will's first-person voice; she does a beautiful job of contrasting Max's external dialogue and actions with his deeply complex internal emotions. All the supporting characters are multi-dimensional and well drawn, too. A Perfect MG Novel!

Max is VERY tall, in 6th grade and recently diagnosed with ADHD.

I have no real experience with ADHD, so not much to base my opinion; but I thought the author (Melanie Conklin) did a great job portraying Max.

I really enjoyed this middle age book; well done. I really liked the characters and the relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this advance read copy, and to Melanie Conklin the author and the publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Publication date is 12 Jul 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although "A Perfect Mistake" revolves around the mystery of what happened at the res to put Will in a coma, the strength of the book lies in the relationships between Max (our main character) and his family/friends. Max has ADHD and he has to work extra hard to complete daily tasks. I particularly enjoyed the bond between Max and his Uncle Cal because these two were more alike than they realized. I think middle graders will relate to Max's struggles and appreciate his discovery that we all make mistakes.

I chose this book because I had loved another book by this same author. It did not disappoint and reminded me or The Truth According to Mason Buttle another book I loved. The main character helps the reader to understand a lot about ADHD and how some students learn. Uncle Cal was my favorite character and his growth throughout the story was impressive. Melanie Conklin's writing always evokes strong emotions and the mystery in this book will do that for readers.

A Perfect Mistake by Melanie Conklin is a Middle Grade fiction about a very tall 11 year old boy named Max whose friend is in a coma at the hospital. Max and his friends Joey and Will sneak out to a dangerous, somewhat abandoned area and when they get scared by some older boys, Max runs away. Meanwhile, something happens to Will and while it seems Joey and some of the older boys might know what happened, no one is coming forward and telling the detectives, except Max. Max and his friend Samantha decide to try to find out more about what happened, at times putting themselves in harms way to get more details.

The story has slightly scary moments and describes an event where a child became very hurt, but I would still consider it appropriate for most middle grade students in grades 3-8. The only foul language is the word "damn" and even at that it is an adult saying it and then apologizing. There is allusion to a bottle of alcohol but mostly just in a "he shouldn't have taken it from his parents" kind of way, not a drunk behaviour or cool kids kind of way. There is a bit of physical bullying and the parent of one of the boys is a bit rough with his kids, but for the most part it is not a violent story. I would consider reading this book with my students later in the year and with a bit of discussion around it. It is not something I would prevent a student in my class from reading if they were interested but it is probably geared towards about Grade 5 or 6.

One thing I really like about this book is that the main character has ADHD and this is a very important part of the story. While his difficulties are explored, including time with a therapist, diagnosis, and the potential for medication, it is always in a very neutral light. There is very little shame about the diagnosis and he is not treated differently because of it. The story is not about ADHD, but rather it is about a boy who is a regular kid, and also learning to manage his diagnosis in successful and positive ways. I think that more opportunities for students to read about characters like them is so important. I have 3 students in my class who are diagnosed and medicated for ADHD and a couple of others who I think should probably be diagnosed and see a doctor. ADHD is so common today and so often is it part of a punitive "Why can't you just sit still" mentality that positive examples of characters in books and movies who are leading normal lives with adaptations is sooooo important for these kids to see.

I think this book is great and would definitely recommend it to middle grade teachers and families of children ages 8-12. There are elements that are interesting and unique to the story and will keep kids reading, while also being fairly appropriate and not scary or graphic. As always, I recommend teachers read a copy themselves before reading it to their students, but I think this could be a great opening for discussion with middle great students about real issues like peer pressure and increased independence that comes with becoming a pre-teen/early teen.

Thanks so much Netgalley and the Publisher (Little Brown Books for Young Readers) for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fabulous book. I look forward to purchasing a copy for my classroom library soon!

This is such an excellent middle grade book. The story is engrossing from the first page and moves along at just the right pace. I couldn't put it down. It handles serious issues but never feels overly heavy. Max is such a lovable main character. He's newly diagnosed with ADHD and the ways it impacts his life were so relatable to me. I also love that it shows some of the strategies he uses and has him seeing a therapist, all in a way that felt very real and never veered into after school special territory. I also loved the way the book dealt with Max being tall for his age, and how he dealt with the wrong conclusions some adults drew from his height, like casting him as the aggressor in an altercation with another student. Max's family isn't perfect, but their struggles felt very true to life, as did his complicated emotions around changing friendships. I absolutely loved this book and I think middle schoolers will as well. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book! It was such a sweet read and I really liked all the characters. Max was such a sweet person and I loved his interactions with everyone else. This is such a great book!

Max reminds me of a few students I’ve had the pleasure of teaching over the years which warms my heart. I appreciated the ADHD representation and the lesson of learning from our mistakes. I love this story!