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Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus (Volume 1)

by Dusti Bowling

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Aven Green (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,1383218,846 (4.15)7
Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Mystery. The audio edition of the bestselling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges of middle school, disability, and friendship-all while solving a mystery in a western theme park. Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is that she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she'll have to answer the question over and over again. Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It's hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven's about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.… (more)
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Representation: Character with a physical disability, characters with Tourette's syndrome
Trigger warnings: Adoption
Score: Five out of ten.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, part of the Life of a Cactus series by Dusti Bowling, could have been better.

It starts with Aven Green, who is adopted and has no arms. She tries to deflect questions by fabricating stories of how she lost her arms. However, they all hide the fact that she wasn't born with them. A deeper look into Aven's Kansas life would have made for a better read.

Most characters have likeability value, but not relatability value. Aven's character developed from being ashamed of her disability to embracing it. The side characters, such as Connor, also were intriguing to read, including the ones with Tourette's syndrome. The pacing is enough to keep the storyline going at less than 300 pages. The writing style is accessible by avoiding purple prose but lacks detailed descriptions.

Bowling portrayed adoption inaccurately, as it is a complicated process that takes months to complete. However, all Aven’s adoptive mother did was click a button to adopt Aven, claiming she birthed her from a computer, which is misleading.

There is a side plot about a mystery at Stagecoach Pass but that did not intrigue me. The conclusion was okay.

( )
  Law_Books600 | Dec 24, 2024 |
Loved the characters and the fairly light tone. Loved that, though the character is sharp and insightful, she's still a believable kid. Liked the book quite a bit more than Wonder. Happy to learn there's a sequel; I'll have to investigate.

"I frowned as hard as I could beside him. I wasn't going to let him destroy my terrible mood." ( )
  Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Oct 18, 2024 |
This was very heartwarming and charming. It made me seek out videos of a super cool woman on YouTube who has no arms. I watched her fly an airplane with her feet. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
Born without arms, Aven unearths a mystery in a rundown theme park and discovers she has just what she needs. “Charming and memorable.” ­-SLJ, starred review
  jessica.mckerrow | Sep 7, 2023 |
Super cute and inspiring story. I loved the narrators voice for the audio. ( )
  Chanicole | Jul 6, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 32 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Dusti Bowlingprimary authorall editionscalculated
Vacker, KarissaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Mystery. The audio edition of the bestselling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges of middle school, disability, and friendship-all while solving a mystery in a western theme park. Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is that she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she'll have to answer the question over and over again. Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It's hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven's about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

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