With each installment I continue to fall in love with this series, simply because there's a genuineness in Ava's voice that just sucks you in. She's a good kid, and the books do such a fantastic job of teaching morality, but also still having fun in its presentation. Ava XOX is a solid entry into this series, and I can only hope Carol Weston has more adventures in store for Ava very soon.

Ava XOX by Carol Weston (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2016) continues 11-year-old Ava’s story over the course of her fifth-grade year. I was a bit nervous going into this book because the premise is that Ava begins to have a crush on a boy in her class, and I certainly don’t want my soon-to-be 11-year-old daughter to start to think about having crushes.

Apparently, I need not worry as she still declares boys in her class gross. I need not have worried about this book, either, because although Ava does realize a little bit of her changing feelings, she also recognizes her own place as a child and does not want to hurry into becoming a teenager.

Previous books in the Ava and Pip series saw Ava’s sister Pip becoming a girlfriend to a boy in her class. Pip is just 14, so even in that setting, I thought she was rather young to be singling out someone as a “love interest.” But, in the book, the two teenagers mostly spend time together and talk together. There is talk about “a kiss,” but even in this third volume, the teenagers did not seem ultraserious. (I can’t even remember when Pip did kiss him. Or did she?) When Pip’s boyfriend writes “I love you” on the Valentine’s Day card, she is incredibly uncomfortable, because that is not what she feels yet. Instead, the two decide that what they really mean is “I ❤ You” (I [heart] you), which to them means they like to be around each other and they make each other’s hearts go “pitter-pat.” (Ok, so that explanation is never provided in the book, but that is how I interpreted it.)

As I mentioned, given Pip’s boyfriend in the previous book, I worried that Ava would now likewise get a “boyfriend,” which makes me roll my eyes. At age 11, that is ridiculous. Thankfully, it kind of turns out that way for the fifth graders in this book too. At one point, one of the kids says something like, “How could we go out? We can’t go anywhere by ourselves.” (I don’t have the page number, because I don’t take notes when reading juvenile fiction.)

In Ava’s school, a fellow fifth grader “asks out” Chuck, who is Ava’s friend and has been since Kindergarten. Throughout the remainder of the book, Ava begins to feel jealous of that friend. To the discerning reader, it is clear that Chuck is not quite sure what to make of this “going out” situation either. He doesn’t seem interested in listening to Kelli, and she doesn’t have a sense of humor that matches his personality.

Although this book shows Ava’s jealousy toward Kelli’s friendship with Chuck, who happens to be a boy, the whole book still feels similar to the jealousy Ava had in the previous book Taco Cat, in which her best friend Marabelle likewise began spending time with a new friend — Zara. At the end of Taco Cat, Ava had learned that everyone can have multiple friends. At the end of XOX, Ava and Chuck both learn the same: there is no need to label a friendship “best” or “boyfriend” when it is obviously special. Getting along with a friend — sharing jokes, listening to each other, and helping with spelling words — is worth it, no matter if it’s boy-girl or girl-girl.

While my 10-year-old daughter and I read the previous two books together (one aloud, and the other via audio), we didn’t have time this month to do so yet. I’m hoping we can read it together during our holiday breaks. So, I’m not sure how she will react to the situation in this book (since she declares boys “gross” still), but I do hope that it gives her a new perspective on boy-girl friendship at 11. There is no need to rush into the “going out” label because it’s completely unnecessary! Just enjoy being a friend.

So, I loved Ava and Taco Cat and did not realize it was a series at first. but I made a mistake in thinking this would be a good series to continue. This is the third (and thankfully final) book in the series and I am so tired of it.

Firstly, there is a child in Ava's sister's class named Tanya who is being bullied for being overweight. She asks for advice after Pip tells her about how Ava had given her a list of tips to make more friends, so Ava makes her a poster of healthy ideas. It is well-intentioned and Tanya is not offended, but Ava does offer some pretty generic advice and focuses less on loving your body and being healthy and more on obvious things like "drink water" and "eat vegetables." I think some better advice might be "consult your doctor" and "focus on how you feel not what you weigh," and "bullies are ignorant and don't deserve your attention," but the point is Ava made a well-intentioned effort. She is confronted by this by three "bullies," who actually have very valid points, so I don't understand why they needed to be made into bullies. The book could have focused on them educating her and her working together with them to revise the poster. Instead, Ava is made out to be the "victim" in this situation and I don't like that, especially in today's society where anyone who gets called out for anything wrong just refuses to listen and learn about things.

Anyway, that's the first plot. It has nothing to do with the title "Ava XOX." I think that's another thing I disliked about this series is there are like 2-3 subplots that end up being full plots, and probably just could have been their own book because putting them both into this book means neither plot got full attention it needed. The plot that matches up with the title is about Ava's best guy friend Chuck getting his fist girlfriend. Ava is jealous and proceeds to literally dog Kelly and everything she does, and conspire on how to break them up. It's gross. I can understand that children have flaws and make mistakes but Ava's literally been mean as snot to other girls for three whole books now and should have learned at least a little bit.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Ava and Pip is a cute series for girls (9 - 12) about siblings, writing, being creative, looking for your strengths, friendship and more. The family loves words and language. They especially love palindromes, words that spell the same forward and backward. Their father is a play-write and he encourages his daughters to use their strengths.

The main character in the book, Ava, is spunky, very smart, outspoken at times, quiet at others, sensitive and caring. This book has a new set of problems and emotions for Ava to deal with. It is coming up to Valentine's Day and Ava starts experiencing new feelings for her best guy friend, Chuck. Is this her first crush? When she hears the news that Chuck is suddenly going out with a very bubbly, pretty and popular classmate we see a side to Ava that is not the nicest. She becomes jealous and starts thinking, writing and talking about Kelli in a negative way without really getting to know her. There are also other issues going on with Pip and her friends that Ava becomes involved with and gets her into some trouble with the older girls. We follow Ava along as she tackles serious issues including newly developed friendships, trust, feelings of inadequacy, body issues, and bullying.

These books are very relateable. The problems are real and although not the most pleasant to deal with, children do have to deal with them. The solutions in the story are also ones that would work in real life, although perhaps not that quickly and easily. The characters in the books, including the secondary ones, are well developed and all play an important role in the story. Not only would I recommend this book, but the whole series. They are age appropriate, deal with real and topical situations, promote writing and reading in a positive light and help girls to realize that it is okay to be strong, feisty, smart and work hard to fulfill your dreams. A wonderful series for every family, public, school or classroom library.