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Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen    by Donna Gephart Amazon.com order for
Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen
by Donna Gephart
Order:  USA  Can
Little, Brown & Co., 2013 (2012)
Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto

Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart is a wonderful middle-grade story that will appeal to brainy girls everywhere. With a mix of humor and preteen angst, Gephart tells the story of Olivia Bean, Jeopardy!'s biggest fan but a geography failure.

Olivia watches Jeopardy! every night, just like she and her father used to before he left his family for Olivia's best friend's mom. Now she has to put up with Neil, her mom's boyfriend, and Tucker, the annoying geography whiz next door. She also has to deal with her father's infrequent phone calls and a major crisis in her mom's life. More than anything, though, Olivia just wants to get on Jeopardy!'s Kids Week ... despite her horrible geography skills.

While Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen is a relatively upbeat and fun story, Gephart does not shy away from some of the harsh realities of growing up and life. Through the course of the novel, Olivia comes to see her father as the man he really is and not he idol she thinks he is; she also learns that there is a lot more to both Neil and Tucker than meets the eye. It is this growing up that really endears Olivia to the reader and shows that Gephart truly knows her audience.

Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen is a great story for any trivia fans, or anyone who has ever dreamed big while surviving their preteen years. Donna Gephart has a fun style and creates relatable characters, definitely making her a middle grade author to watch.

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