Only a short time after Boo, I read another ARC about a quirky kid. Candice isn’t in thirteen year old American heaven like Boo is, but she is in Australia, which even knowing a fair number of Australians outside of Australia, as well as non-Australians who have been to Australia, I’m not completely convinced actually exists. Sort of like thirteen year old American heaven. Australia … phsaw.

So, The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee is a middle-grade novel (the back suggests “ages 10 + up”), so I read it out loud to my six year old, because six, ten, same thing, right? Quality bonding time plus moving down my ARC pile (sorry it took me a year to read your ARC book Barry Jonsberg).

The book is a diary-style format, twenty-six chapters, each lettered in order of the alphabet. Candice is unorthodox in a completely adorable way, just doing her own things, thinking her thoughts, not super concerned about not fitting in. She has her goldfish and her family and friends who don’t know they’re her friends yet. There’s the standard traditional middle-grade novel tropes (think like 1980s before all the books were about dystopian vampires competing in elaborate televised games using magic to save their alternative society): a gentle love story, a bully overcome by the power of kindness, the tween’s chaotic maneuverings saving the day/her parents’ marriage/her father’s company/etc. It’s a nice change to have an optimistic book for younger readers that isn’t saccharine or formulaic or made more to sell swag than stories. Sometimes YA et al. is just so unremittingly dour.

Not to say that we’re running through a marigold pony unicorn rainbow field of marshmallows with The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee. There’s a lot of downers. Maybe too many downers (SIDS, depression, breast cancer, divorce, familial strife, bullying, inter-dimensional travel and its consequences). Many of the downers seem more like scaffolding to the story (SIDS and breast cancer mainly). It’s strong enough to stand on its own without them. People don’t necessarily need a reason to be depressed. Sometimes people just are.

“Will there be a sequel?” my six year old asked as we finished it. So that’s a big thumbs up from her.

The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee by Barry Jonsberg went on sale September 9, 2014.

I received a copy free from Librarything in exchange for an honest review.