By Rebecca Behrens
315 pages
Amazon rating: 4.7/5, grades 3-7
Good Reads: 4.14/5
Common Sense Media: not reviewed
4Rbooks: 4+/6, Grades 4+ - 8
Synopsis:
Beatrice, better known as Bea, is an Earhart. Yes, Amelia Earhart’s grandniece, but unlike Amelia, she is far from the adventurous sort. She writes in an Adventure Journal which is blank, and she keeps a worry journal which has many entries. Her life has been in turmoil for the past few years. Her parents were divorced, her mother, the journalist, was always away covering stories, and Bea was living with her dad, step-mother, and younger stepsister who was always trying to get too close. Little did she know that a chance to visit and stay with her grandmother Pidge at Pidge’s new retirement home would turn into the adventure of a lifetime.
Pidge is the sister of Amelia and is convinced that she is still alive. She believes that she needs to get back to their family home in Atchison, Kansas where Amelia will be waiting for her. Pidge knows she can’t do it on her own, so she enlists Bea to come along and help. They cross the country on a train, bus, propeller plane, and care with the help of many kind strangers along the way until they finally reach their destination. On the trip Bea learns that maybe she does have the Earhart spirit of adventure, and the she needs to embrace her life and the family that loves her, and she learns to love back.
Parental Guidance: Low
Pidge and Bea leave without telling any other family members
They stowaway on the train.
They hitchhike.
A couple of time they try to scam people into helping them.
There is a scary incident involving the plane.
Recommendation: Medium High
Quite often I come across children’s novels that I believe adults would enjoy reading more than the children. The Last Grand Adventure falls into that category. The story is set in 1967 with many historical and cultural references to that time-period that grand parents (that’s hard to write) would appreciate. The story is intertwined with the mystery of Amelia Earhart’s last flight and disappearance.
For children, the adventure is interesting enough on its own, but it is enhanced when you know about the Earhart story and the time-period. This would be a great class read, especially with gifted readers who would be interested in researching and learning about the history involved. One of the major subplots of the story is the relationship between sisters which should appeal to girls with siblings.
I was hoping after Louisiana’s Way Home that this story would be a better grandmother and granddaughter road trip. It was, mostly. There are still uncomfortable moments that would need cautionary explanations, but there is more adventure to the story and should lead the reader to want to finish the road trip with Pidge and Bea.
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