Courage for Beginners by Karen Harrington

Courage for Beginners is an inspirational middle grade book about being yourself and overcoming obstacles. Mysti Murphy has a difficult life. Her mother has agoraphobia, which means she is scared to leave the house. So everything that involves going outside, her father does. That all changes when her dad falls out of a tree and hits his head. With him in the hospital, it is up to Mysti to take care of the family.

Meanwhile, Mysti has just started seventh grade, which is not going the way she planned. Her only friend has left her for an "experiment" where he is a hipster. Mysti loves to daydream and pretend she is a character in a book, but that is not the best help in real life.

I loved Mysti's character. She feels like a character in a book, and she loves to be happy. When someone is sad, she tells them a joke. Her energy and creativity are contagious. If I were in her school, I would want to be her friend. Mysti really stepped up and helped out, and that is inspirational to me. Courage for Beginners is very realistic, and it shows some of the conflicts that you wouldn't see just by looking at someone.

However, the one issue I had with the book was that nothing got solved. There was an ending, but it was quick and accomplished nothing. It felt to me that someone just ripped out the pages at the end. 

I do recommend you read this book. 

Title: Courage for Beginners

Author: Karen Harrington

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 304 pages

Series: No

Rating: 4 Stars

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