ARC Review: Small Medium at Large

Small Medium at Large by Joann Levy, July 3, 2012. 208 pages. Published by Bloomsbury. Source: won.

After she’s hit by lightning at a wedding, twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom develops a new talent: she can hear dead people. Among them, there’s her overopinionated Bubby Dora; a prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a séance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one big fear: talking to—and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with—her crush, Andrew Finkel.

First Sentence:

Despite the suffocating mid-May heat, and the nonbreathable fabric of my lavender polyester dress, it was shaping up to be a very good day.

It would definitely seem that this is the year of mid-grade greatness. I have read a fair amount of mid-grade books this year and so far have not been disapointed by any of them, and Small Medium at Large was no exception.

Small Medium at Large is the third book I have read were the main character is struck by lightning. Even so, I found this one to be unique and nothing like the other two books with lightning strike survivors.
What really made it so original and interesting would have to be the interaction between Lilah and the ghosts that begin to pop up in her life. I thought it was definitely a nice twist that one of the ghosts was one that was familiar to Lilah herself, being that it was her grandmother. I like to think the addition Bubby Dora, Liliah's grandmother, made it easier for her to accept her new found ability. Besides, Bubby Dora was an absolute hoot and cracked me up everytime she made an appearance.
One of the reasons I loved Small Medium at Large as much as I did would have to be the writing. I thought that Ms Levy did an excellent job of capturing Lilah's personality. She also knew how to hit the funny, embarrassing moments right on the head with out the humour coming across as forced or overly planned. I definitely look forward to seeing what else the fabulous Ms. Levy will have in store for readers on whatever she tackles next.

Lilah was definitely one spunky girl and a joy to read about. One of the things that surprised me most about Lilah herself would have to be how well she dealt with her newly gained abiliy of speaking with the dead. It was interesting to see that she did not freak out too terribly bad. Lilah was just one of those characterts that is absolutely likeable and who you want to see succeed, plus it was nice to read about a character that got on with their parents.

Usually I name one thing that I liked about a book, like an element to the story, but this time the thing I liked the most was a scene. And that scene would have to be the undergarment shopping/run in with Lilah's crush. Oh my goodness, I was giggling like crazy over this scene because it was flat-out hilarious and so well written. Ms Levy did an excellent job writing such mortifying encounter tn be forgetting it.

The only downfall of  the awesomeness that was Small Medium at Large would have to be that it was over entirely too soon. I was so sad to see it draw to an end, but happy with the way things ended for Lilah.

Final Verdict: Small Medium at Large is an epically funny read with

Small Medium at Large earns 5 out of 5 pineapples.