Bob
By Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
Hi! Have you ever been to Australia? Well, Olivia has. Her grandmother lives in Australia. It’s always dry there; there’s never any rain. Strangely, Olivia can’t really remember her last trip to Australia when she was five. Now she is almost 10 ½.
One day, she walks into her closet at her grandmother’s house and finds a green child in a chicken suit! His name is Bob and he says that when she was last there, they used to do everything together. And that Olivia (Livy) saved him. From what, Livy didn’t exactly know. Bob said that he couldn’t remember either. He said that he found her in a barn, soaking wet. Pretty soon, Olivia started to trust in Bob.
One day, before they went out into the town, Bob gave Olivia a chipped pawn piece (a chess piece). He said that it was important for her to carry it around, because she always did when she was younger. Another strange thing is that Olivia forgets Bob when she’s not near him.
Then, at a restaurant which her grandmother said she used to visit all the time, she feels a pawn piece in her pocket and remembers Bob. A friend from when she was younger who works at the restaurant asks if Olivia can come over sometime. They talk a lot during lunch and then Olivia asks her mom if she can go and buy something in the middle of dinner and her mom says, “No, not right now.” (She was going to buy Bob some new clothes.)
Eventually, Olivia forgets again, and by the time she gets back, it’s too late to go and buy Bob some new clothes. Bob is now limited to a scratchy tutu and a chicken suit that is five sizes too small for him. Then, Livy remembers that Bob said it was a sunny day and he couldn’t remember how she had gotten soaking wet when she rescued him. Olivia thought that she could have fallen into her grandmother’s well, and that was sort of a clue. And from then on, she kept him away from wells.
Will Olivia figure out where Bob is from and get him back before it’s too late? Or will Bob have to live the rest of his life alone in the human world? As I always say, read the book to find out!
I recommend this book to readers who love adventure and action. I think a lot of people would like this book. It’s a little hard to get into the first chapter because you don’t really know what’s going on, but after that, it grabs you! At the beginning, you feel how Livy is feeling. You don’t really understand anything because Olivia doesn’t remember her last trip to her grandmother’s house. And the first chapter is from Olivia’s point of view. And the chapters go on like that – they are titled “Olivia” and “Bob.” Each chapter is written from that person’s point of view. So you have to pay attention to the chapter titles.
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor): There were a few scary parts, but none of which were too scary.
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor): Zero. None. Nada.
I give this book 5 ½ wands.
I loved this book so very much! It was full of excitement, action and adventure. Although it is short, that doesn’t change anything about how much I love this book. I hope you enjoy!
Source: Review Copy
