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My Life in Dioramas Tara Altebrando 9780762456819 Books

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My Life in Dioramas Tara Altebrando 9780762456819 Books

Kate Marino has spent her life in Big Red, her wonderfully large, rambling house. But her parents are having financial trouble, and have to put Big Red up for sale and move in with her grandparents – just as Kate’s dancing class is about to compete for the very first time! Kate’s world coming feels like it’s coming to an end, and begins crafting dioramas of her life at Big Red as she and her friends try to think of ways to turn potential buyers off of a sale.

I loved this story. Ms. Altebrando takes a sobering look at life for many families today and finds the spark of hope, the humor, and ultimately, the ability to move on. Kate is a wonderful main character that middle graders will love. The ideas she and her friends come up with to discourage potential buyers are hilarious and innocent rather than mean-spirited. We see the stress of the family’s financial situation affecting Kate, but also, her family, particularly through her mother’s fight with depression. Using a popular school project – the diorama – as a vehicle to advance the plot and take readers through Big Red’s story – as much a character in this book as anyone else – immediately invests the reader.


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My Life in Dioramas Tara Altebrando 9780762456819 Books Reviews

Do not bother reading this. Many better books out there!
I found the idea of a girl documenting her childhood home in dioramas strangely compelling. It sounds like a great idea, a bit like a 3-D scrapbook. For Kate, leaving the home she has known her whole life is horrifying, especially when it means giving up her friends and a chance to be in a dance competition. Kate decides to try to delay the sale by making the house as unappealing as possible to prospective buyers. While I didn't approve of Kate's actions, I have to admire her creativity. I appreciated the fact that when her father found out, there were appropriate consequences applied. Like most people, Kate must face the change coming her way despite how unpleasant it is. To make things worse it seems her mother might be depressed which makes everything worse. I thought the book came together in a believable and interesting way. Kate's shifting friendships with Stella and Naveen also come into play and since Kate is twelve this feels realistic. An enjoyable contemporary story about something many children and tweens have to face, because of that I think many readers can relate to Kate and her struggles.
I was provided with a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Marino loves her unusual home, with the high ceilings and the beams that run across them, even with the dead flies that they keep finding in her parents room. She loves her backyard and the stream that runs through it by the forest in the back. She also loves a square of blacktop that she calls the tennis court, where she and her friends play and ride their scooters. Oh, and don’t forget about her dance classes and the dance troupe that they are finally starting up at her studio.

Then her parents tell her that they are moving.

Kate isn’t happy about that. So she devises a plan that will turn all potential buyers away from the house. She decides that she will do everything in her power to make they house reek. and for a while, she succeeds.

This was an easy read, but it still had substance to it, even with all the fun elements.

For example, there was a bit of friendship trouble that Kate was having with her best friend Stella. For one thing, they were developing separate interests that were significantly different. For another, Kate was hurt when Stella didn’t seem to care that she was moving and going to be living an hour away.

At first I really didn’t like the rivalry between the two girls. But as the book went on, the characters became more developed, and the fight was realistic. It became something that a lot of young girls could relate to.

The dance troupe in the book was another cause for disharmony between the girls. Kate decided that she wanted to do the troupe, even through she was moving and shouldn’t be able to participate. Stella insisted that it was selfish of Kate to do that, because Kate would be moving and if she left then the entire class would have to re-choreograph the entire routine. During this part I could see things from both sides of the characters views. I agreed with Stella, who was being practical. However, I understood that Kate wanted to participate, and who thought she could hold off her move until after the competition.

In the beginning of the book, Kate and her parents don’t understand each other and she seems to feel like they are distant. On top of this, Kate’s mother is going through a difficult time and their family struggles terribly with their finances. I enjoyed seeing their relationship change throughout the story.

The last thing that I want to mention that I really like is the diorama element. The book is called ‘My Life in Dioramas’ for a reason. Throughout this entire story, Kate is putting all her happy memories of her family and life in her house, Big Red, into the form of dioramas. She makes her yard, and every room in the house, so that she could go back and look at them once she is gone and remember her old life. For the character, it was probably a very therapeutic exercise.

Kate’s attempts to keep the house from selling never failed to amuse me. From gathering animal dung to sneaking meat out of the fridge, Kate never failed to entertain the audience.

This book is meaningful and deals with real problems, but manages to accomplish both these things in such a way that it makes you feel pleased at the end and that ensures that you have fun reading the book.

It is appropriate for all ages and I would highly recommend it.
Kate Marino has spent her life in Big Red, her wonderfully large, rambling house. But her parents are having financial trouble, and have to put Big Red up for sale and move in with her grandparents – just as Kate’s dancing class is about to compete for the very first time! Kate’s world coming feels like it’s coming to an end, and begins crafting dioramas of her life at Big Red as she and her friends try to think of ways to turn potential buyers off of a sale.

I loved this story. Ms. Altebrando takes a sobering look at life for many families today and finds the spark of hope, the humor, and ultimately, the ability to move on. Kate is a wonderful main character that middle graders will love. The ideas she and her friends come up with to discourage potential buyers are hilarious and innocent rather than mean-spirited. We see the stress of the family’s financial situation affecting Kate, but also, her family, particularly through her mother’s fight with depression. Using a popular school project – the diorama – as a vehicle to advance the plot and take readers through Big Red’s story – as much a character in this book as anyone else – immediately invests the reader.