14 year old Mike’s dad is a genius – an overweight, socially inept, clueless Engineering genius – and they don’t get along at all. Since his mom died, Mike’s had to learn how to take care of all the details in their lives, from paying bills to grocery shopping, and he feels like he’ll never be what his dad wants him to be. When his dad announces suddenly that he’s spending the summer teaching a grad class in Romania, and that Mike will be going to his great aunt & uncle’s place in rural Pennsylvania, Mike is completely shocked. But as a kid accustomed to rolling with the punches, Mike heads out only to find his great aunt Moo and great uncle Poppy are in serious trouble: they’re grieving from the recent death of their adult son, they’re falling apart physically, and they’re completely broke. Trying to figure out how to help them, Mike soon gets involved with a project the whole town is trying to finish: raising $40,000 to adopt an orphan boy, Misha, from Romania. He finds help from unlikely sources – a friendly, caring homeless guy in the park, Past, a punk-rock singer who’s also the teller at the bank, Gladys, and a cast of misfits and other oddballs from around the small town of “Do-Over,” Pennsylvania. Along the way as Mike has to come up with one scheme after another, he discovers that while he may not be good at “mathematical engineering,” his real skills lie in “life engineering,” and he can use them to help everyone: Moo, Poppy, Past, Gladys, Misha, and even himself and his dad.
In this quirky, fun, and touching story about fathers & sons, eccentricities and self-acceptance, Kathryn Erskine has delivered a truly enjoyable read. The Absolute Value of Mike resounds with a young guy’s insecurities, frustrations, and fears about growing up, but also with his personal strengths, determination, and resilience. When faced with an assortment of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Mike engineers his way through them with the help of unlikely friends and using a source of will he didn’t know he had. The sum of Mike’s parts add up to more than anyone expected, making The Absolute Value of Mike a number that is as “far from zero” as you can get.
- Posted by Cori