How I Saved My Father's Life
(And Ruined Everything Else)
by Ann Hood

    HOW I SAVED MY FATHER'S LIFE (AND RUINED EVERYTHING ELSE) by Ann Hood
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  3/1/08
    Publisher:  Scholastic
    Reviewed by:  Allison Fraclose
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Twelve-year-old Madeline Vandermeer is on her way to becoming a bona fide saint. Oh, she’s not religious or
    anything, and her family never goes to church, but she’s already performed two miracles. The first was when she
    slid a glass of water across the kitchen table by only thinking about it. The second was when somebody called her
    name in the middle of the night, and she woke up with a terrible premonition that her father, on a writing assignment
    in Idaho, was in danger. After spending a day deep in prayer, she learned that he was one of only two people to
    survive an avalanche.

    However, after her second miracle, everything else in her life goes downhill. Her father, now rich and famous from
    his harrowing experience, divorces her mother, moves into a posh apartment in uptown New York, and marries
    Ava Pomme, a sophisticated woman famous for her apple tarts. Soon, they have their own daughter, and Madeline
    and her little brother, Cody, are forced to travel between the two parents.

    Madeline adores Ava and the feeling of once again being part of a family, if only for a weekend. How different Ava
    is from her own boring mother, who cooks disgusting food for her cooking column and embarrasses Madeline just
    by being there. If her mom hadn’t been so ordinary, crying and scatterbrained over the simplest things, then maybe
    Madeline’s father would have stayed. Determined to find some solace from her life, Madeline concentrates on
    ballet and her journey into sainthood, although that journey may not lead where she expects.

    I absolutely gobbled up this book. Even though Madeline’s treatment of her mother sometimes disgusted me, I
    found her reactions, opinions, and character flaws to be incredibly lifelike and endearing. Although I am not
    religious or from a divorced family, I found this book to be most enjoyable, and highly recommend it to any preteen
    girl.