MMGM: Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand

Hello, all you fellow writers and bookworms!! ^^ I hope you’ve all had a splendiferous weekend and that all your projects have been faring well! I myself have been well in the Rewriting Trenches for the past few weeks with my middle-grade fantasy, Island Keepers, and one could say it’s been going… slowly, I suppose. Very slowly. But it’s going.

Autumn, also, has finally rolled around, and we’ve been having chilly weather — perfect for snuggling up with a cup of tea (or, if you are like me, warm water XD) and writing! <3 Izzy and Charlotte have both been enjoying the colder weather as well!

At any rate, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted anything for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday. I took a break from book reviewing this summer, but I was planning to get back into it this fall! (And oddly enough, the second that autumn has rolled around, a baffling amount of folks have reached out to me for review requests. Seriously, where are y’all coming from?!)

Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Tis just most amusing how perfectly timed this all is. XDD

And speaking of getting back into book review, today I have a most splendiferous book to be sharing with y’all today! Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand. This was a book that I’d wanted to pick up for quite some time and it is just such a lovely middle-grade contemporary. <3

The blurb reads: THINGS FINLEY HART DOESN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT

• Her parents, who are having problems. (But they pretend like they’re not.)
• Being sent to her grandparents’ house for the summer.
• Never having met said grandparents.
• Her blue days—when life feels overwhelming, and it’s hard to keep her head up. (This happens a lot.)

Finley’s only retreat is the Everwood, a forest kingdom that exists in the pages of her notebook. Until she discovers the endless woods behind her grandparents’ house and realizes the Everwood is real–and holds more mysteries than she’d ever imagined, including a family of pirates that she isn’t allowed to talk to, trees covered in ash, and a strange old wizard living in a house made of bones.

With the help of her cousins, Finley sets out on a mission to save the dying Everwood and uncover its secrets. But as the mysteries pile up and the frightening sadness inside her grows, Finley realizes that if she wants to save the Everwood, she’ll first have to save herself.

Reality and fantasy collide in this powerful, heartfelt novel about family, depression, and the power of imagination.

Again, this is a lovely book! ^^ The only thing I have to say before reviewing it is that it’s more of a contemporary than a fantasy. Though the blurb does make it sound like Finley discovers the real Everwood behind her grandparents’ house, tis… more like she finds a forest thats look exactly like the Everwood in her imagination and then she and her cousins find a strange house in those woods (that appears to have been partly consumed by a fire) and have a sort of “game” where they pretend to be people from those woods. Finley is the orphan girl, Gretchen the lady knight, Jack and his siblings the pirates, etc.

There is also a fantasy story within the novel, the one that Finley writes in her notebook about the Everwood that serves as a sort of allegory for her own life and struggles, but the actual story takes place in the real world. So tis more of a contemporary than a fantasy, I think, and I felt somewhat misled by the blurb. Alas. It’s still a wonderful story and one that I enjoyed reading though!

I loved all the characters in this story and how fully fleshed out a lot of them were. My favorite would have to be Finley — as someone who has struggled with the same mental health issues as her (who is also a fellow writer!), I related to her so much and there were so many times where I wished I could just reach through the pages and give her a hug. I also loved reading her Everwood stories (they are most definitely like the stories Younger Me would’ve come up with) and seeing the lists she writes in her notebook and how much everything in her notebook means to her. I love the lists that are scattered through her notebook too!! (Twas most fun to read through them!)

I also loved Jack, Gretchen, and Avery! They’re all such good friends for Finley, and truth be told, reading this novel may have made me wish to run off into the woods with my friends for some grand summer adventures! ^^

Alas, if only I didn’t live in the middle of a bustling, concrete city… XD

I enjoyed the writing style of this book too! It’s told in first person, present-tense (I feel as though I have never met anyone who enjoyed first person, present-tense, but I do!) and it helps you slip into Finley’s thoughts.

Some things I greatly appreciated about this book were the topics of depression and anxiety. These are things I’ve struggled with before (though I’m doing better now), and I felt that they were portrayed so very realistically in this book. So realistically that, at times, it was almost hard, in a way, to read this book, because I recognized so many of Finley’s thoughts as my own.

It’s also realistic in that it doesn’t portray depression as something that simply disappears once you have a good day, nor does it portray Finley as being sad or “moping around” all the time. Her blue days come and go, and there are happy days, but it doesn’t mean her depression is gone. I found that very relatable, and I thought this book did a wonderful job of showing what it really feels like to struggle with your mental health while still being a normal kid with friends, interests, and a magical forest in your imagination.

I also liked how much depth the adult characters were given in this book. Much of time in middle-grade, the adults tend to be more in the background (or… you know, if it’s fantasy, the parents are killed off. XD. Which makes sense to have sometimes, if the kids are going to save the day!) But here, the adults are fully-fleshed out people in their own right, people who aren’t perfect, people with their own struggles and problems and lives. And I loved this, because it made their relationship with Finley feel so much more complicated and real.

All in all, I think this is a wonderful middle-grade contemporary. It doesn’t shy away from the hard, messy bits of life, but at the same time it is infused with friendship, family, and hope, and I think it’s a book that’s worth a read for folks of any age. <3 I’d give it…. 4 out of 5 stars, methinks.

(I do think I would’ve given it five if not for the fact that I felt misled by the blurb. XD)

Aaand, of course, we simply cannot have a review without hearing from the beloved CFC of this blog…

The Cute Fluffy Comrades. Izzy on the left, Charlotte on the right, and Scrabble perched atop Pages & Co.

Izzy: ISABELLE! You haven’t had us on here all summer!!!

Charlotte: Mhm!!! (glares angrily) (then blinks, looking most hurt) Really, Isabelle! How could you?

Scrabble: (looks up from her cheese) Squeak? What’s going on? (notices blog readers) AAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, oh, oh, my apologies. (brushes crumbs off her whiskers) (clears throat) Ahem. Didn’t see you there.

Izzy: (shakes head) Isabelle. Charlotte is right. How COULD you?!

Me: Actually, this is not true. You were here for the summer reading list!!!

Izzy: (scratches chin) Were we? Oh yes. Yes we were. WELL STILL!!! You haven’t had us on nearly enough. (shakes head mournfully) At any rate, where were we? Oh yes!!! What I thought of this book. This was a (sniffs) lovely book. A truly lovely one. All the characters, how much depth they had. It did not draw me in as much, for some reason, and I did not love the last part (don’t really know why), but it still is a beautiful book and one I’d recommend. Four out of five stars.

Charlotte: (weeps) (blows nose into Izzy’s handkerchief) This is a BEAUTIFUL BOOK. A truly truly truly beautiful one. It made me cry. Some parts are so SAD!!! (weeps) Sad but brilliant. I did not expect to like this, since we does not like contemporary very much, precious, but this is a truly beautiful one. I love the characters so very much. I want my own Everwood now. Five out of five stars.

Scrabble: I… did not love this book. I do not know why. (twitches whiskers) Perhaps because I can be far too picky over books for my own good. Alas. I am far more used to cozy fantasy. Tis a lovely book for the right mouse. I, alas, am not the right mouse. It’s most unfortunate, but it is what it is. (sighs mournfully) By the way, did you know that badminton is named after the house of some Duke?

Aand, there you have it folks! The reviews from the CFC! I do not see how badminton is related to Some Kind of Happiness, but I was indeed wondering why badminton was called badminton….

Anyway, do let me know down in the comments what you thought of this review and if you’ve read this book! :)) I love hearing from y’all! And, of course, don’t forget to check out Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, where Greg Pattridge and a bunch of other amazing book bloggers come together every Monday to share MG book reviews, interviews, and more!

Till next time and have a splendiferous week, y’all!

-Isabelle