The Fourteenth Goldfish

Plot Summary
Ellie is eleven years old, feeling a little lost in middle school. Her parents are involved in the theater, and over the summer she “lost” her best friend to volleyball. Everyone is encouraging Ellie to find her passion, but she just doesn’t know what that is. When Melvin, her scientist grandfather is caught breaking and entering into his own lab, he comes to live with Ellie and her mom. He has to live with them because he can’t live on his own - everyone thinks he is thirteen! Melvin has discovered a way to reverse aging, and tested it on himself. He goes to middle school along with Ellie, helping her open doors to friendships, adventure, and finding her own passion - science.

Personal Response
I’m excited that this book is out there for young people to read! I feel like it’s especially an important book for girls, because of the stress of science, how appealing it can be, and how much Ellie falls in love with the subject. I can see this being a popular book (and series?) among young kids, and I think it could generate a lot of interest in STEM and Maker Space programs at libraries.

Reviews & Awards
From School Library Journal: “With humor and heart, Holm has crafted a story about life, family, and finding one's passion that will appeal to readers willing to imagine the possible.” Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist.

Read it for yourself!
Holm, Jennifer L. 2014. The Fourteenth Goldfish. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375870644

Literary Tourism: Vonnegut in Indianapolis

My family went to Indianapolis for Spring Break, and while we were there, we visited the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library. I'll be honest - I'd never read anything by Vonnegut. I heard so much hype about him in creative writing classes and grad school that I actually thought he was overrated. But Will loves him, and I love libraries and anything book-related, so I had no problem stopping at the Memorial Library.

It's basically two rooms in a downtown Indianapolis building. You walk in to a large, open space - inviting and well-lit, even on a rainy day. Some of Vonnegut's sketches are framed on the walls, as well as Vonnegut-inspired prints by other artists. A large touchscreen plays interviews with Morley Safer and other friends on a loop, and you can sit on a bench and listen for awhile. The next room has memorabilia from Vonnegut's military career, personal items like glasses and his last pack of cigarettes, and his original typewriter.

You can sit at a replica of Vonnegut's writing setup and type a message. He wrote on a typewriter, set on a low table, from an even-lower chair. It looks cozy and uncomfortable at the same time.
The library is an actual lending library, and there are more than just Vonnegut books for checkout. This is, however, a collection of signed books, first editions, and tickets to a speaking engagement that never happened, due to Vonnegut's death.

A touchscreen computer in this room allows you to read some of Vonnegut's unpublished works, plays, and letters. Oh - and rejection letters! Some of them are pretty funny, though I'm not sure if they're supposed to be. It was humorous to me, knowing what little I did about Vonnegut's risque subject matter, to see a rejection letter from Woman's Home Companion.

The Memorial Library is definitely worth a visit if you're anywhere near the area - this coming from someone who wasn't even a Vonnegut fan. Those who think it was crazy of me to visit a memorial library for an author I don't know might be pleased to note that as of now, I'm reading Look at the Birdie, a collection of previously unpublished short stories, and really enjoying them.