The Center of Everything

Written by Linda Urban

Narrated by Suzy Jackson

For Ruby Pepperdine, the " center of everything" is on the rooftop of Pepperdine Motors in her donut-obsessed town of Bunning, New Hampshire, stargazing from the circle of her grandmother Gigi' s hug. That' s how everything is supposed to be-- until Ruby messes up and things spin out of control. But she has one last hope. It all depends on what happens on Bunning Day, when the entire town will hear Ruby read her winning essay. And it depends on her twelfth birthday wish-- unless she messes that up too. Can Ruby' s wish set everything straight in her topsy-turvy world?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490601304

Linda Urban

Linda Urban's debut novel, A Crooked Kind of Perfect, was selected for many best books lists and was nominated for twenty state awards. She is also the author of Hound Dog True, The Center of Everything, Milo Speck, Accidental Agent, and the chapter book Weekends with Max and His Dad, which received two starred reviews. A former bookseller, she lives in Vermont. Visit Linda online at lindaurbanbooks.com and on Twitter at @lindaurbanbooks.

Reviews for The Center of Everything

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a quiet story about feeling lost, wanting things to be okay, and not knowing how to make that happen. It's about the power of friendship, both old and new, and about figuring out what you're "supposed to" be doing and whether "supposed to" even exists. Ruby Pepperdine's on her way to figuring out what questions to ask in this quietly powerful coming-of-age story set in small town New Hampshire. Readalikes:I'd recommend this to kids who liked the more serious subject matter and multiple narrators of Barbara O'Connor's GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE. I'd recommend this to kids who liked Rebecca Stead's WHEN YOU REACH ME for reasons that are spoilery and so will not be mentioned. (Ruby and her friend Nero have read WHEN YOU REACH ME and discuss it in this book!)I'd recommend this to kids who identified with Keeper's search for family in a quirky small town in Kathi Appelt's KEEPER. I'd recommend this to kids who liked reading about the complexities of female friendships in THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF GIRLS or THE KIND OF FRIENDS WE USED TO BE, both by Frances O'Roark Dowell.