The Second Life of Abigail Walker

In a powerful story about learning to be proud of one's true self and rising above bullies, sixth-grader Abby is sick of the "medium girls," who weigh the right amount and say all the right things, and of her parents, who are on her case about dieting and fitting in. She is even more tired of her own efforts to stay in the clique's good graces. One day Abby walks away from their taunts, a small step that takes her life in a new direction. A fox bites her, and she follows a dog across a creek where she meets eight-year-old Anders and his father, who is recovering from serving in Iraq. They invite her to help with a research project, which leads to new friends at school and unexpected happiness. Occasional chapters follow the fox Abby meets, whose story is slowly revealed as it intersects with Abby's. Dowell (Ten Miles Past Normal) creates a sympathetic and honest heroine with a flair for drama, humor, and creativity, and she resists a tidy ending in a novel that feels both timeless and entirely of-the-moment. Ages 8-12. (Aug.)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 4-6--Abby Walker just wants to be like everyone else, until the day that she decides it's OK to be herself. The sixth grader is on the heavy side and has her own ideas. But she has desperately wanted to be friends with the popular girls, who quickly reject and bully her when she stands up for herself. Once she leaves them behind, Abby realizes that there is another world to discover. She doesn't gain superhuman strength or experience a huge boost in confidence; she simply becomes free from the shackles of trying to please everyone at school. Abby is befriended by two nerdy boys and becomes friends with a boy whose father is recovering from PTSD after returning from Iraq. This latter relationship also helps her to put things into perspective and to overcome the challenges she faces. Juxtaposed with her story is a surreal tale about an anthropomorphic fox that wants to help Abby. Every few chapters are devoted to the animal even as the two story lines intertwine. This novel about a character finding her place even if it isn't what she imagined for herself is a great addition to collections on character building.--Kerry Roeder, The Brearley School, New York City

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"The Second Life of Abigail Walker introduces Abby, a sixth grader, at the moment she decides she's through being pushed around by the mean girl, Kristen, who rules over their social circle with arbitrary cruelty. Abby is a natural target; she is not quite like the rest of the girls - they're "medium smart, medium good at sports, their families had a medium amount of money." Most painfully, their bodies are medium-size, while Abby is noticeably heavier. One day Abby walks away from an insult at the lunch table, and from the hope of staying in the group. She will just have to start a "second life."

What's wonderful is how Dowell, the author of several beloved books for tweens and teenagers including the Edgar-winning "Dovey Coe," gracefully draws the many concentric circles of Abby's life. Forced to escape the menacing Kristen and eager to avoid her own distracted parents, who concentrate on her mainly to deliver unsubtle messages that she needs to eat less, Abby ventures into a new part of her neighborhood. There, she meets a younger boy named Anders. He lives on his grandmother's horse farm with his father, who acts strangely — something horrible happened to him while he fought in the Iraq war, and he believes he must finish the research for a long poem about animals or he cannot get well. While spending time at the farm and learning to ride a horse is liberating for Abby, it's even more empowering to mobilize a group of new, more intellectually oriented friends to help with the research project.

All the while a proud fox, whom Abby crosses paths with at the beginning of the novel, roams near her house. She seems to have extraordinary — perhaps even time-traveling — abilities, and has been watching and guiding Abby. Is she somehow part of the Iraq story of Anders's dad, too? Dowell suggests as much with a poetic logic that forms a nice antidote to the novel's all-too-realistic mean girl plot.

—The New York Times Book Review