Aven takes on high school, bullies in heartfelt sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Products & Purchases
a little
Zion's family are all seriously into superheroes—his parents own a comic book business and named their firstborn after Lando Calrissian—and part of the story includes a trip to Comic-Con, where just about everybody is in costume and/or role-playing as a superhero. Occasional mention of Google and other internet services.
Violence & Scariness
a little
Violence is emotional but real, as a cruel prank gets Aven's high school life off to an awful start, with her trust betrayed and a bully tormenting her in creative ways. Brothers do a lot of wrestling and knocking each other around in fun horseplay. A beloved character who's been in declining health dies; another suffers a life-threatening health episode. In the 1930s, nuns beat kids in orphanages.
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Aven and a cute guy like each other and share her first kiss—when they're both in costume role-playing as superhero/villain characters. Her friends Connor and Zion like girls at their different schools, who turn out to be cool and nice; Zion's older brother has a short-lived romance with a beautiful but shallow girl who makes one mean remark too many. Meanwhile, at the retirement home, Aven's grandmother claims to find a new man at the home very annoying, but she may be changing her mind.
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Aven is White, red-headed, born without arms, and very capable, thanks to her own determination, her adoptive parents, and also her deceased birth mom's mother, as well as good friends. Her friend Zion's family, first seen in Book 1, are cool, Black, and nerdy; make a point of representing Black superheroes; speak Klingon when they don't want the kids to understand; and take Aven to Comic-Con. Zion is mocked by mean kids at school for being overweight, especially by a bullying jock who calls him "Lardon." Some discussion of superhero characters who were White in their mid-20th century versions but reborn as Black versions in the 21st. Connor, Aven and Zion's friend in Book 1 who has moved away but is still part of things, has Tourette's syndrome and finds it helpful to play music. Trilby, a girl their age who Zion likes, is White, homeschooled, and into punk rock, big ideas, and wild-colored hair. The challenge of doing the YMCA dance when you don't have arms is the bane of Aven's life.
As her friend Connor says, "Aven would give him a second chance because Aven always believes the best about people"—which makes her vulnerable to mean and evil kids at school, but also wins her loyal friends. Including Connor and Zion from Book 1: Connor's moved away to live with his dad but stays in touch, while Zion's loving family of Black superhero fans—including older bro Lando—give her a lot of fun times and real appreciation. Her adoptive parents offer love, support, good sense, and appropriate boundaries; her biological grandmother, now in a retirement home, offers family lore and cranky wisdom.
Positive Messages
a lot
Strong messages of family, friendship, self-respect, kindness, and being there for your loved ones. "Don't ever let anyone make you feel like you're not enough. You are worth more than you know. Don't let any one person take that away." "None of us are cool, Aven. But you know what? I'm okay with that. Aren't you?"
Educational Value
some
As you might expect from the book's title, there are big words and ideas: "I thought maybe it was because we would help people escape from the Alcatraz of their minds as a result of the expectations society has placed on them by using the power of our glorious punk rock melodies!" Lots of pop culture, with a deep dive into comics and superheroes (Wolverine, X-Men, Avengers, etc.), and a villain character who was also a Nazi back in the day. Old-school rock, as some characters bond over a Tom Petty tune and another discovers the mosh pit. DNA testing, and a history of 20th century orphanages in Chicago, are important to the story.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus is the second book of Dusti Bowling's two-part Life of a Cactus series, narrated by spirited, red-headed Aven Green. Born without arms, Aven doesn't let it slow her down: She plays the guitar, rides horseback, has good friends, and writes a popular blog, and her family runs a Western theme park in Arizona. Now 14, she's confronting the challenges of high school, including bullies, mean kids, crushes, and complex relationships. Luckily she's got a loving extended family and good friends who have her back—even when she doesn't always listen to them. A cruel prank threatens to derail her high school life, but thanks to her strong spirit and support system, she gets her balance and determination back. Lots of superhero characters and drama here, including a trip to Comic-Con with a Black family who has a comic book business, and a sweet kiss while role-playing. Aven is adopted and is curious about her birth father; a DNA test plays a role in the story.
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What's the Story?
MOMENTOUS EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS finds red-headed Aven Green, now 14, starting high school and really dreading having literally thousands of new kids staring at her because she was born without arms. Worse, her friend Connor has gone to live with his dad and is at a different school, so it's just her and their friend Zion, who's got social anxieties of his own. What he's also got is a cool, nerdy family who have a comic book business and a zeal for representing Black superheroes—and that's good to have when you come up against bullies being mean and evil for the pure fun of it.
Dusti Bowling's relatable sequel takes Aven, its spirited, red-headed narrator, to the perils of high school and mean behavior she didn't know existed—and minus one of her BFFs to boot. While the characters' disabilities remain a theme in Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus—Aven was born without arms; friend Connor has Tourette's syndrome; friend Zion is mocked for his weight—they're more in the background here as the teens confront cliques, bullies, crushes, and social expectations. Superhero fans will be in heaven, as Zion's family has a comic book business and takes the three pals, in costume, to Comic-Con.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Aven's experiences being bullied in high school in Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus. Do you think the bullies targeted her because of her disability? Do you know anyone who's been targeted in some way for being "different"? What happened?
Aven does a lot of thinking about whether she'd be better off being homeschooled. Trilby, who is homeschooled, reminds her of the good things at regular school. What do you think?
Do you know anyone who took a DNA test in hopes of connecting with unknown relatives? How did it turn out?
Available on:
Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Last updated:
August 26, 2024
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Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus: Life of a Cactus, Book 2
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