Overview

What if your pencil had all the answers? Would you ace every test? Would you know what your teachers were thinking? When Ava Anderson finds a scratched up pencil, she doodles like she would with any other pencil. But when she writes a question in the margin of her math quiz, she hears a clear answer in a voice no one else seems to hear. With the help of her friend Sophie, Ava figures out that the pencil will answer factual questions only--those with definite right or wrong answers--but won't predict the future. Ava and Sophie discover all kinds of uses for the pencil, and Ava's confidence grows with each answer. But it's getting shorter with every sharpening, and when the pencil reveals a scary truth about Ava's family, she realizes that sometimes the bravest people are the ones who live without all the answers . . .

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It's no surprise that Kate Messner s magic pen could write a charming, moving, funny, and ultimately very surprising story about a magic pencil! Wendy Mass, New York Times best selling author of 11 BIRTHDAYS</p> Messner (Manhunt) has created a relatable, sympathetic character in anxious Ava, and her story is at its best when Ava's life remains centered around the norms of her school, friends, and multigenerational family. <i>P</i><i>ublishers Weekly</i></p> Ava learns lessons about coping and bravery that should resonate with middle grade readers struggling with their own anxieties. Although Ava is constantly worried, the novel s tone remains bright and cheerful. Yes, there s a magical pencil, but this remains an emotionally resonant portrait of a sweet girl whose struggles are firmly rooted in reality. <i>Booklist</i></p> Will appeal to Wendy Mass fans as well as those who love Messner s previous novels. <i>School Library Journal</i></p>

Author Information

Kate Messner is a former middle-school English teacher and the author of E. B. White Read Aloud Award-winner The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z., The Seventh Wish, Sugar and Ice, Eye of the Storm, Capture the Flag, the Marty McGuire chapter book series, and three picture books, Seamonster and the Bossy Fish, Seamonster's First Day, and Over and Under the Snow. She lives on Lake Champlain with her husband and two kids. When she's not reading or writing, she loves hiking, kayaking, biking, and watching thunderstorms over the lake. www.katemessner.com @KateMessner

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