The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla
on July 11, 2023
ISBN: 0063268795
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

“The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn” is a middle grade realistic fiction novel by Sally J. Pla. Maudie McGinn is a neurodivergent middle schooler who is hiding the fact that her stepfather, Ron, abuses her. She can’t wait to go spend the summer with her father. When wildfires threaten her father’s cabin, they spend the summer in his hometown, where Maudie makes friends and learns how to surf. She finds that she’s stronger than she thought and that there isn’t anything wrong with her.

Maudie is very well written and readers will feel the hopelessness and pain that she feels. Her strength in the end promises a better life for her, away from her mother and stepfather. Scenes of abuse in the book are hard to read, but her scenes with her kind and understanding father and friends are uplifting. The novel switches between prose and poems from Maudie. A recommended purchase for every library’s middle grade collection.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, ME.