The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, by Stacy McAnulty

 One of this year's OBOB titles for middle school, Lightning Girl is the first novel by McAnulty, but not her first book. This is the story of Lucy, who survived being struck by lightning four years ago which scrambled her brains just enough to make her a math genius! Fun, right? This story describes her first venture into middle school, being homeschooled after the lightning event, where she finds that not every problem has a solution...get it?  :)

The book starts off a little slow, I think, but by page 50 or so there is enough of Lucy on the pages to make you like her. Her social life consists of her Nana and her uncle Paul, so being tossed into 7th grade has many challenges, as you might imagine. Once I started to get to know Lucy I couldn't stop reading or rooting for her! When she takes up at a local animal shelter and befriends an abandoned dog, well...I was hooked. How can I NOT like a dog story, right? 

This book reminded me of Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, one of my all-time favorite books, which is a strong recommendation! Lucy is quirky, smart, independent, imperfect, brave...a great protagonist! I'm not sure McAnulty is quite Sharon Creech yet, but Lighting Girl is good enough to make me want to read more from her. And you'll love Lucy, Windy and Luke, as well as Cutie Pi- even Nana! A really good story, a great OBOB selection, and a cool cover, too - 4 paws!