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Love, Ish
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
11 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 3 to read
A rich and moving story about how one girl's celestial-sized dreams for a future on Mars go heartbreakingly awry when an unexpected diagnosis threatens her future. Things Mischa "Ish" Love will miss when she goes to Mars: lying on the living room floor watching TV, ice cream, her parrot Buzz Aldrin. Things Ish Love will not miss when she goes to Mars: mosquitoes, heat waves, missing her former best friend Tig. Ish is convinced that she'll be one of the first settlers on Mars. She's applied to--and been rejected from--the Mars Now project forty-seven times, but the mission won't leave for ten years and Ish hasn't given up hope. She also hasn't given up hope that Tig will be her best friend again (not that she'd ever admit that to anyone, least of all herself). When Ish collapses on the first day of seventh grade, she gets a diagnosis that threatens all her future plans. As Ish fights cancer, she dreams in vivid detail about the Martian adventures she's always known she'd have--and makes unexpected discoveries about love, fate, and her place in the vast universe. In this story perfect for fans of Fish in a Tree and The Thing About Jellyfish, Karen Rivers has once again created an unforgettable narrator who will pull readers into her orbit and keep them riveted until the very last page. Praise for The Girl in the Well Is Me: "Darkly humorous . . . Honest and forthcoming . . . It's in the quiet moments when Kammie is alone with her thoughts--which become surreal hallucinations--that the book comes alive." --The New York Times "A brilliantly revealed, sometimes even funny, exploration of courage, the will to live, and the importance of being true to oneself. The catastrophe draws readers in, and the universality of spunky Kammie's life-affirming journey will engage a wide audience. Moving, suspenseful, and impossible to put down." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Funny, surreal, occasionally heartbreaking . . . A compulsively readable story." --School Library Journal "I dare you to pick up this riveting novel without reading straight through to its heart-stopping conclusion. Karen Rivers has penned a dazzling voice, at once hilarious, heartbreaking, and searingly honest. The Girl in the Well Is Me is a triumph." --Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan "A gripping story that doesn't shy away from dark places but explores them with heart, humor, and light." --Kate Messner, author of All the Answers
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Peddler410
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
Pickpick

Posting this after the fact ... finished a couple weeks ago.

I really liked this book. It was a bit heart wrenching but I would have been disappointed if it wasn‘t. The ending, for me, was perfect.

As a reader, I wanted more from the friend who moved away (forget his name) but the way it was written was more real. The ending is what gets this book on my #huggable list.

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Peddler410
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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Thank you, @MallenNC for the fun #jolabokaflodswap package! My daughter especially loves the chocolate snowmen!

I already know I‘m going to like this book. My gut tells me it will get tagged as one of my huggable picks.

MallenNC I am so glad you like it! I thought the snowmen were cute. 6y
29 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Missusb
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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monalyisha
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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Mehso-so

So unique! The style is intentionally disjointed & "stream of consciousness" at times (I've read books like this but never a children's book). I didn't devour it but I appreciate it. I don't know if kids will. Rivers' sense of humor is wacky & strange - in a good way. Her sentences can also be strange - not in a good way ("Maybe it's the place where people go who are happy"). The writing can also be beautiful. I have mixed (but strong) feelings.

monalyisha Note for those in-the-know: This pond is perchlorate (and jellyfish)-free. To my knowledge. (edited) 7y
19 likes1 comment
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monalyisha
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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Book + back-up book + sun-dappled picnic blanket = A+ lunch break. 👌🏻

mrozzz Perfection 7y
21 likes1 comment
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monalyisha
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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"I wonder who the first person was to think, "Hey, real plants are a lot of trouble, let's make plastic ones." The whole world is the laziest. Period."

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monalyisha
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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"As a planet, the Earth is mostly OK, I guess."

#greatfirstlines

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literaticat
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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LOVE, ISH doesn't officially come out until the 14th, but I found it in the bookstore early (and yep, that is my shelf-talker, what can I say, I like to brag about my own books!) -- in all seriousness though, you should nab this one if you like profoundly affecting middle grade that WILL make you cry. Booklist's starred review calls it: "A star-bright story of love, courage, and unflagging spirit." Yup. ?⭐️♥️

monalyisha I'm dying to know what actual kids think of this! Have you had any takers? 7y
6 likes1 comment
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BethFishReads
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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I loved her first book, so I can't wait to read this one. A young girl looks to a future that she might not have. I know this will be great. From @AlgonquinYR

DebinHawaii This one sounds good! 👍📚 8y
43 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Rlweasley
Love, Ish | Karen Rivers
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Pickpick

Definitely recommend! The beginning starts off kind of slowly, but once you get into her questions about her Mars dreams, it really takes off. It's definitely very sad, so make sure you have some tissues on hand!