Loved this book. A really fun YA read for a State Library of Victoria/Public Libraries Victoria challenge. Have to see the movie now! ( )

Candice Phee is a 13 year old girl with a very precise and literal outlook on life. Her teacher gives her class an assignment; write about your life in 26 paragraphs, one for each letter of the alphabet. While most of the class groans, Candice is overjoyed at the challenge.

As Candice works through her assignment, it becomes clear that her life is surrounded by dysfunction. Her younger sister died from cot death, shattering her parents. Her mother is recovering from breast cancer, and her father has had a massive falling out with his brother, Rich Uncle Brian, over a failed business deal. Candice is determined to find a way to bring her family back to (H is for) happiness.

She has another challenge in that her only friend, Douglas Benson From Another Dimension, is determined to find a way to make a quantum leap to escape his facsimile parents and return to the dimension that he says he belongs in. This basically involves jumping out of a very tall tree at exactly 6.30 pm. Candice feels obliged to attend Douglas' attempts to return, torn between worrying about him killing himself, or worrying that he will actually succeed and she will lose a friend.

This is a very funny book with a singular narrative voice. As an effective combination of both outward humour and underlying seriousness, it rivals Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. From me, that's very high praise. ( )

I loved Candice. She absolutely sparkles. This book made me laugh out loud and tear up a couple of pages later so I can't give it less than four stars. ( )

Candice Phee is autistic. She lacks certain social skills that enable her to make and maintain “normal” friendships. However, when she tells her friend’s mother that she isn’t autistic, the mother asks, “Then what are you?” She replies, “I’m me.”

And she is. She is also brutally honest, painfully literal, and fastidiously observant. These characteristics serve her well when completing her English assignment to write something about her that happened in the past, one paragraph for every letter of the alphabet. Twenty-six paragraphs turn into a book, in which she makes it her mission to ensure that those around her are happy. So, she attempts to help her friend Douglas Benson from Another Dimension get back to his own dimension, and she concocts a scheme to bring her father and his estranged brother back to together. Add to that the need to have her mother stop drowning in sorrow from having lost a child several years ago, and you’ve got one busy girl.

This award-winning Australian novel is a gem in the world of children’s literature. You will root for Candice, grieve for her parents, and appreciate Douglas’ seriousness. I adored this book, and so will you. This would make a great read-aloud with middle grade students.

Note: This review was written from an advance uncorrected proof, supplied by Chronicle Books, via The LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. A Common Core-Aligned Teachers’ Guide is available on the publisher’s website.

Quirky book about a girl who makes her first friend, who happens to be from another dimension, and helps put her family back together. Very enjoyable read. Kids will enjoy it - though they may want to try jumping out of trees after doing so! ( )