The Best Worst Thing

The Best Worst Thing

By Kathleen Lane

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Curriculum Subject: Family Life: Parents/Siblings/Babies, Family Life: Neighbors/Neighborhoods

Grades: 3rd-7th

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Front door locked,
kitchen door locked,
living room windows closed.
Nobody in the closet,
nobody under the beds.

Still, Maggie is worried. Ever since she started middle school, she sees injustice and danger everywhere—on the news, in her textbooks, in her own neighborhood. Even her best friend seems to be changing.

Maggie believes it is up to her, and only her, to make everything all right. Can she come up with a plan to keep everyone safe?

The Best Worst Thing is a perceptive novel about learning the limits of what you can control, and the good—sometimes even best—things that can come of finally letting go.

PRAISE

★ “Though there are no tidy beginnings or endings in Maggie’s swirling first-person narrative, Lane crafts a powerful portrait of a girl wrangling with deeply relatable concerns, which will easily resonate with readers confronting a complex and uncertain world.” —Publishers Weekly

★ “The protagonist is able to use the strength she finds in a budding friendship to foster a positive change in her perspective of the world. Not only can this book serve as bibliotherapy for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder and high anxiety, but readers of all kinds will also find much here to ponder and discuss. VERDICT Thoughtful characterization and relatable themes make this a strong purchase.” —School Library Journal