The Heart and Mind of Frances Pauley

November 1, 2017
Grades 4-7 Figgrotten (or Frances to just about everyone else) is perfectly fine being alone, wearing the same wool hat and coat every day, idolizing anthropologist Margaret Mead, and spending every afternoon on a rocky ledge behind her house. But changes, some big and some small, upend the 11-year-old's routine: First, her sister is being unusually cruel. Then, a new boy comes to class who doesn't seem to recognize how his know-it-all behavior alienates their classmates. And finally, her wise, kind old bus driver ends up in the hospital. In a lively, distinctive voice, Stevens movingly narrates Figgrotten's emotional growth, as she gradually becomes less satisfied with being by herself and more invested in her friends and family. The changes are fairly subtle, but Stevens gracefully emphasizes that those small transformations signify something much more profound. Stevens' deft handling of her characterseveryone of them vividly multidimensionalis a particular high point, especially Figgrotten, who is at turns grumpy, stubborn, jealous, grief-stricken, and compassionate. This is classic middle-grade coming-of-age territory, but it has surprising, pithy depth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
Fifth grader and budding anthropologist Frances prefers being outdoors and renames herself Figgrotten. The loss of a beloved school bus driver is difficult for Figgrotten since she has so few other friends, but this event pushes her to step outside her comfort zone. This introspective novel treats differences in temperament matter-of-factly, and though the protagonist's quirks are particular to her, many will understand her introverted nature and difficulty relating to others.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

March 1, 2018
Fifth-grader Frances, a budding anthropologist who hates being indoors, does what feels right to her?renaming herself Figgrotten, spending her free time alone on her favorite rocks, filling her room with branches, and leaving the windows open to simulate the outdoors?all to the chagrin of her more typical sister Christinia, who's in eighth grade and suffering through middle-school friendship drama. The loss of their elderly, beloved school bus driver Alvin is particularly difficult for Figgrotten since she has so few other friends, but this event pushes her to step outside her comfort zone. This quiet, introspective, third-person-limited-perspective novel treats differences in temperament matter-of-factly, and though the protagonist's quirks are particular to her, many readers will likely understand her introverted nature and difficulty in relating to others. The book allows its heroine to adjust at her own pace, but it also makes room for readers to consider the perspectives of other characters: Figgrotten isn't the only oddball around, and she's not the only one?either at home or at school?who could use a friend. shoshana flax

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 1, 2017
Frances, a white fifth-grader who calls herself Figgrotten, carries a heavy burden of isolation and loneliness that she is unwilling to recognize.Deeply involved in nature, Figgrotten likes nothing better than spending a day on the rocky hill behind her house, immersed in the outside world. She sleeps with her window open, and her bedroom is packed with her finds: tree branches, birds' nests, and assorted other reminders of nature. Her deep friendship with Alvin, the richly intuitive, elderly driver of her school bus, provides just enough emotional support to sustain her. But she's found effective ways to isolate herself: she dresses oddly, interacts hardly at all with her classmates, and keeps herself tightly reined in from saying too much in school, although her teacher endeavors to ease her way. Like a couple of others in her class, quiet Fiona, with a voice "like a papery whisper," and new boy James, who hides by burying his face in books, Figgrotten remains safe but alone in a sharply circumscribed orbit. With her relationship with her older sister, Christinia, crumbling, followed by the death of Alvin, Figgrotten's world falls apart. It's only after she begins to bridge the gap between herself and the affectingly evoked Fiona, Christinia, and eventually even James, that she finds solace.A moving depiction of unique characters, grief, and the benevolent power of forgiveness. (Fiction. 9-12)

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