Oliva Bean, Trivia Queen
Author: Donna Gephart
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 13, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385740522
ISBN-13: 978-0385740524

I received this book for review about a month ago, and while it took me only an afternoon to read it, it took me a whole month to pry it out of my nine-year old granddaughter Jasmine’s hands.  She got the mail the day the book arrived and instantly fell in love with it.  When I saw her, she had it clutched in her tiny hands and a huge smile on her face.  “I love this book and Olivia Bean, Grammy!  It’s awesome!  May I finish reading it before you write about it?”

What could I do?  I said yes.

Every week when she came for her visit, she’d conveniently forget the book.  When I’d ask about it, she’d chirp, “Olivia Bean is AWESOME! No, I’m not finished with it yet, Grammy.  Next week I’ll bring it.”

I finally had to have her mother pack it into her overnight bag this weekend so that it would actually make it here.  While Jasmine was here, she read to me aloud from chapters, focusing especially on the trivia sections.  As she read, she beamed and she’d look at me hopefully, wanting me to love it as much as she does.  When her mom picked her up, she was almost crying at having to leave it, though I promised repeatedly I would give it back to her ASAP.

“Pinky swear Grammy?  Promise you won’t read something else first.  I NEED Olivia Bean back.  She is AWESOME.”

I promised and shifted it on the stack to the top.  I just finished it and called her mother to pick it up for her.

Did it live up to my granddaughter’s hype?  Absolutely!

Oliva Bean is a girl obsessed with trivia, as is her five-year old brother Charlie who must have reminded Jasmine of her six-year old brother Aiden.  Why?  Because Charlie is obsessed with trivia too, only gross trivia like the fact that flamingos pee on their legs to keep cool.  That sounds like something Aiden would be fascinated with.

Things aren’t just about trivia in the Bean household.  There’s big time stuff going on.  Olivia’s dad has run off and married her once best friend’s mother and moved across the country, her mom’s got a new boyfriend Neil who has moved in with the family and a few other things, that make life difficult.  What is wonderful about this book, is the fact that even with these crazy, real life problems and stresses going on, this is a family that sticks together, believes in each other and works things out.

OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN is funny, sad, and completely wonderful.  I loved the trivia, and as an avid Jeopardy! fan, I loved all the references to the show.  There’s so much in the book that is kids can related to: lack of confidence, family problems, one parent not being much of a parent, money worries, siblings that can get on your nerves.  I think middle-grade and even YA kids will adore this book for all those reasons and more. Donna Gephart has written a believable, completely loveable character in Olivia Bean.  It will make you laugh, cry and above all cheer for Olivia.

Like Jasmine says, Olivia Bean is awesome.  You’re going to fall in love with her.  Now, to get this book back to Jasmine before she has an anxiety attack.

Publisher’s blurb:

Olivia Bean knows trivia. She watches Jeopardy! every night and usually beats at least one of the contestants. If she were better at geography, she would try out for the show’s kids’ week. Not only could she win bundles of money, she’d get to go to the taping in California, where her dad, who left two years ago and who Olivia misses like crazy, lives with his new family.

One day Olivia’s friend-turned-nemesis, Tucker, offers to help her bulk up her geography knowledge. Before Olivia knows it, she’s getting help from all sorts of unexpected sources: her almost-stepdad, superannoying Neil; her genius little brother, Charlie; even her stressed-out mom. Soon she has breezed through the audition rounds and is headed for Hollywood! But will the one person she wants to impress more than anyone else show up to support her?

About the author:
Donna Gephart’s new novel, OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN, is about a girl who will do anything to appear on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! Donna’s second novel, HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL, received starred reviews, landed on state reading lists and appears at Scholastic Book Fairs. Her first novel, AS IF BEING 12-3/4 ISN’T BAD ENOUGH, MY MOTHER IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award.

Donna offers presentations and writing workshops at schools, conferences, book festivals and libraries across the country.

She is an active member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and lives with her family in South Florida.

Buffer