Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Insignificant Events in 
the Life of a Cactus
by Dusti Bowling

From the publisher:
"Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.

Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms."

While doing a realistic fiction book talk with 6th graders, one of them recommended this book to me. I'm so glad she did because I really enjoyed it. What an amazing main character, who makes up for her lack of arms with her determination, grit, humor and compassion. Aven's parents raised her to do things on her own and she never made excuses - just carried on. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to have to start a new school (in middle school) with a challenge such as hers. One example I found particularly touching was her hesitancy in eating in front of her new peers, so she would try to find different places to eat lunch where no one could see her eating with her feet. And yet she manages to find friends and change lives. The title seemed strange to me until I read about the big, 200 year old cactus that Aven loves to sit next to and where she realizes that her problems and issues are a very insignificant event to that ancient saguaro, who has seen many things in it's lifetime. I loved that profound thought and hope students understand it and internalize it. There is a sequel to this, however we definitely get a very good ending with plenty of closure.
This would make a great read-aloud, class read, family read, or for students (and adults) who love Wonder or Out of My Mind . Not only does it deal with Aven's challenge of no arms, but it also portrays a middle school student with Tourette Syndrome, a very overweight middle school student and issues surrounding adoption. I definitely recommend it to one and all. 

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 8-12

School Library Journal - Grades 5-8