This book grew on me. I was a little wary of all the nicknames for the house and objects because it all seemed too cute and a little confusing at first. It hooked me just enough to stick with it, and eventually I was curious to see how things worked out. That said, the author could have invested more energy in the characters and less on the elaborate details about the house. ( )

Award Winner
2017

** Awards/Honors Received**
Publisher's Weekly's Best Book of 2017 for Middle Graders
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017 for Middle Graders
Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year 2017 Middle Grader
A Junior Library Guild Book

This book pushed some boundaries for me. At first I thought the author was trying a little too hard to add every different type of ability, race, etc. into one family. As I went through the book, however, the characters grew on me. It also made me think how so many families are different and how we make room for the shortcomings of our families. Loving them unconditionally and expecting the same in return. In this book we meet The Lottery's. This household consists of two married women and two married men who have been friends for a very long time. They decide to coexist together and have adopted children together. All of the children are named after trees - Sycamore - the oldest, easy-going, charming, Catalpa - next oldest, pretty, lots of big projects, Redwood (goes by Wood) third oldest, likes to play in the woods and hang out with his dog, Sumac - she's nine and the perspective from which the story is told by - very smart, a little of a know it all, Aspen - who is autistic, Briar - who now goes by Brian - she is 4 uses she pronouns but a male name, and Oak - the youngest who also has special needs due to being shaken as a baby. Plus, there are 2 cats, a dog and a parrot. The house is rather unruly, but everyone gets pitches in. They are very environmentally conscious - growing their own foods, buying locally, conserving water, don't own a car, etc.

One day one of the fathers gets a call that his dad in Alaska is showing signs of dementia. After flying up to see him, the parents decide to try out having him stay with them (The Plus One). Pop and his father haven't spoken in years. His father doesn't like that he is gay or vegetarian and he doesn't approve of the lifestyle he is living with his friends and children. He's also lived alone for years and is very set in his ways. When he comes to stay, he's portrayed as pretty stodgy and the kids start to call him Grumps. He first stays in the attic, but then there is concern that he won't be able to get up and down the stairs. The parents decide that he and Sumac will switch. Sumac is not happy about this at all. Throughout the book everyone struggles with the new resident in the house. They all must make concessions, but Sumac feels hers is the worst. She had to change rooms, she's assigned to be his "guide person" and he never seems appreciative that he's there.

However, through all the problems, there is some resolve. Finding out how it is resolved will take reading the book!

This hits so many diverse points that it could've been used as my diverse book. There's Aspen - who's African American, PapaDum is Indian, PopCorn is white with Scottish roots, CardaMom is Native American, Sumac has Philippine heritage, Aspen is autistic, Briar/Brian is gender fluid, Oak is also disabled. Even the dog has just three legs! Overall, I ended up liking this book. I think that someone who comes from a non-traditional familial background would see something of themselves in this book. Children who come from large families would also appreciate this. If someone is just looking for a book with diverse characters, this is also a perfect book for that.

An organization that promotes literacy:
I really wanted to find a local organization that supports literacy. I found this non-profit that I'd never heard of before! It's called Bring Me a Book St. Louis and they work towards encouraging parents to read to their child every day. They do this through delivering books to the neighborhoods who need it the most. The children are provided with a wooden crate to keep their free books in so they have a special place to keep them. They also focus on the diversity of the people they assist and try to provide books that are also diverse. They were also a 2019 Library of Congress Literacy Award Honoree. They have been showcased in several of our local news outlets. I'm inspired to see how I can assist them!

https://bringmeabookstl.org/ ( )

Parents like this always strike me as mythical. Do people with this much patience exist in real life?

This is a very nice book. It's great in showing a non-traditional family dealing with something that many families have to deal with -- taking care of an elderly relative. Seeing it through the eyes of a precocious 9-year-old is a different take, and one that I think would be great for kids to read. ( )

I listened to this while spinning the most gorgeous skein of yarn from two braids of dyed combed top. So gorgeous, in fact, that multiple people at the yarn store asked if I sold my handspun.

I'm talking about what I was doing while listening to this book because the spinning was honestly more enjoyable than the book. This was a bit of a mixed bag. The narrator was fantastic and had a very unique voice for each of the characters and it was perfect. The narrator alone saved the book from a two-star rating. I will definitely be looking out for more audiobooks narrated by her.

The actual content of the book... Well. It seemed like Donoghue took a "everything including the kitchen sink" approach to show just how weird, and quirky, and accepting, and liberal the Lotterys were. The family was a huge mash-up of biological and adopted children of differing circumstances, the parental unit were actually two same-sex inter-racial couples, they homeschooled all the children (without an actual curriculum), and had strange names and words for everything. They didn't have a car, ate vegetarian, and all the children had plant names. It was as if Donoghue went, "What is the liberal dystopian hell that gives the far-right nightmares?" and incorporated all of that into this fictional family. And then there was Grumps, aka Ian Miller, aka one of the dad's father who moves in with the lottery because of early-stage dementia. And he's grumpy and disapproving, and Sumac, the narrator, is having none of it.

I found most of the characters completely annoying, with Sumac being particularly selfish and bratty. Many times I wanted to just yell at her to grow up and think about someone other than herself. Instead of finding the Lotterys lifestyle quirky and charming, I just found it over-the-top and felt like Donoghue was trying too hard.

And the ending felt a bit too neat because Sumac all of a sudden had a change of heart and Grumps was okay with her. A little too quick to that realization, given the entire book previous of selfishness.

And lastly, Brian, who was transgender and despite saying he wasn't a girl, was referred to as a "she" throughout the book because he hadn't specified a preferred pronoun. Which just seemed lazy and sloppy. Given the pains the author made to describe how accepting the family was, I find it really hard to believe the parents didn't have a conversation with him after he declared he wanted to change his name. It just seemed weird and odd and out-of-place.

But! The audiobook narrator saved the day and it was a delight to listen to her read the book and affect distinct voices and accepts for each character. I need to find more of Thérèse Plummer's narrating work because it was fabulous! ( )

Sumac is the middle child in a big, nontraditional family (two moms and two dads who decided to have kids together, then won the lottery, hence their unconventional surname). Life is great in their loving if chaotic household, until an estranged grandfather comes to live with them because he is developing dementia and can't get by on his own any more. Grumps, as the kids secretly call him, disapproves of many aspects of their family, and Sumac can't help but think that he might be more comfortable somewhere else -- anywhere else!

I enjoyed this story, though I did find it a little precious at times -- "crunchy twee" was the term I mentally coined. There are a lot of family in-jokes (all four parents have punny nicknames) and a lot of borderline preachy sentiments. I think young readers who are drawn to realistic stories about large families will enjoy this book, though adults (like me) may find it just a bit much. ( )