Early Reader Review: Not a Unicorn by Dana Middleton

Source: Recieved from Netgalley and Chronicle Books in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Not a Unicorn by Dana Middleton 
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Publication Date:  September 21, 2021

 

Format: Ebook


Rating: DNF Review

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Magic, adventure, and friendship collide in warm and funny novel about the power of self-acceptance to change the world.

Jewel's your average eighth grader. Awkward relationship with a cute boy, ex-BFFs with a popular girl, mom issues at home. You've read it all before. Except for one thing: Jewel has a unicorn horn on her head.

(Okay, and one other thing, but it's just too weird to mention here!)

Jewel tries to stay invisible at school, looking forward to the day when she can finally leave her small town behind, making art with her fellow weirdos, and obsessively reading graphic novels with her best friends. But when she's selected to represent her school at the regional French speaking competition, she decides she's had enough of the shy life. The horn needs to come off.

What happens when you have the ability to become the girl you've always wanted to be? When you don't know your true self, how do you know your true friends? What happens when everything in your life—your biggest struggle, your greatest joy, and your dearest friends—all combine in one calamitous adventure?

With a sparkle of magic, a treasure trove of true determination, and help from all her friends both real and invisible, Jewel just might survive this year with her heart—and her head—intact.

THE ULTIMATE EMPATHY READ: The unicorn horn in this book is a perfect symbol for all the ways every young person feels strange, different, or unusual in any way. While readers' specific situations may differ from Jewel's, her struggle for self-acceptance will resonate with readers of all stripes, circumstances, and backgrounds.

A RICH, FANTASTIC FANTASY: At the heart of this book is a rich, multi-layered fantasy adventure that will have all readers thinking twice about the stories they read, the friends they have, and the superpowers they may not even know they possess.

IRRESISTIBLE MIDDLE SCHOOL DRAMA: Catty ex-friends, terrifyingly unapproachable boys, embarrassing dance proposals, inspirational teachers—this book has all the hallmarks of everyone's favorite middle grade fare.

UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS: Readers won't want to leave this world behind! The main characters and the families in this book are real, warmly drawn, and endlessly relatable. Readers will return to the book just to live in the world for a little bit longer.

RELATABLE FAMILY ISSUES: Jewel's family deals with situations that will be very familiar to most readers: high hopes for the future, never having enough money, and the distance between what we want and what we have. The family dynamics are relatable, too: Jewel's single mom works a low-paying job, and they live in an apartment with Jewel's grandma. The warmth of this family despite their difficulties will stay with readers long after they close the cover.

Perfect for: tweens, fans of unicorns, fantasy readers, parents, educators

Review: 

The above synopsis gives a really good overview of things that you might find in this book, however,  it was not for me. I gave this book a few chances and just was confused and could not hold my attention, so I had to throw in the towel and move on. 

Not a Unicorn is about a young girl with a unicorn horn on her head, she doesn't like it, it makes her an outcast. I got to about the 40% mark of this story so I don't know how it all comes together in the end, but Jewel has located a doctor to remove her horn. 

This book has some good qualities - Jewel having a horn and al her feelings surrounding it are how a lot of kids feel in middle school. Like they are too different, too much of an outcast, that they will never fit in and need to match to become popular. So as an visual representation of that aspect of tween years, I thought that this book did a good job. I really hope that the ending of this book (again, I didn't get there) was that unique is ok and that tansforming yourself to be seen as ok by others is not the answer... but I will never know. 

It lost me along the way with the addition of Carmen, a unicorn... a hallucination of a unicorn... a real unicorn.. and imaginary friend... I am still not sure exactly. Add to that  full cast of characters with little to differentiate them, it made reading this difficult to follow. Maybe it was because I was in ebook format, and a paper copy would have madethe flip back easier, but I still just had to set it aside.