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Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus (Volume 1) Paperback – March 5, 2019

by Dusti Bowling (Author)

4.7 3,443 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Life of a Cactus

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“Aven is a perky, hilarious, and inspiring protagonist whose attitude and humor will linger even after the last page has turned.” —School Library Journal (Starred review)

The paperback edition of the bestselling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges of middle school, disability, and friendship—all while solving a mystery in a western theme park.

Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.

Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

Autumn 2017 Kids’ Indie Next Pick
Junior Library Guild Selection
Library of Congress's 52 Great Reads List 2018

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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

“No one lights a lamp and hides it under a basket. They put it on a table so it can shine for all to see.”
Highlighted by 627 Kindle readers
A photograph of me. With arms. Wearing the turquoise necklace. Taken in 1973.
Highlighted by 471 Kindle readers
I’ve had this longstanding rule of not eating private parts, and it’s served me well so far.
Highlighted by 401 Kindle readers

From the Publisher


	Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus	Aven Green Sleuthing Machine	Aven Green Baking Machine	24 Hours in Nowhere

Customer Reviews	1,165	87	39	503
Price	$6.99	$6.99	$11.95	$8.99
More from Dusti Bowling:	The sequel to the critically acclaimed Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus follows Aven Green as she confronts yet another challenge: high school.	Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a whole month,but can this perceptive detective solve two cases at the same time? This hilarious chapter book showcases a new side to Dusti Bowling’s unforgettable protagonist.	Now that third-grader Aven Green has retired from sleuthing, it’s time to conquer a whole new world: baking!	When you come from Nowhere, can you ever really make it anywhere? Author Dusti Bowling returns to the desert to create another gripping story about friendship, hope, and finding the power we all have within ourselves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Awards include:
Autumn 2017 Indie Next Pick
Junior Library Guild Selection
Reading the West Award Winner
Library of Congress's 52 Great Reads List 2018
Youth One Book, One Denver 2018
Chicago Public Library “Best of the Best” 2017
Evanston Public Library Best of 2017
Austin Public Library Best Tween Fiction 2017
Multnomah County Library Best Books of 2017
Southwest Books of the Year “Best of the Best” 2017
The Children's Book Review Best Kids Books of 2017 for Tweens and Preteens
Booksource Top 40 Classroom Library Titles of 2017

Praise for the hardcover edition of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

"She is a perky, hilarious, and inspiring protagonist whose attitude and humor will linger even after the last page has turned. The tale of Stagecoach Pass is just as compelling as the story of Aven, and the setting, like the many colorful characters who people this novel, is so vivid and quirky that it's practically cinematic. VERDICT Charming and memorable. An excellent choice for middle grade collections and classrooms." —School Library Journal (Starred review)

"Dusti Bowling's story of a regular, hugely likable kid who deals with her unusual challenges with grace and humor is pitch-perfect.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Connor's Tourette's support-group meetings and Aven's witty, increasingly honest discussions of the pros and cons of 'lack of armage' give the book excellent educational potential. . . . its portrayal of characters with rarely depicted disabilities is informative, funny, and supportive.” —Kirkus

“[A] sensitive and funny novel . . . an openhearted, empathic book. —Publishers Weekly

“Aven Green didn’t really lose her arms in a wrestling match, but when her parents move the family halfway across the country to manage a run-down theme park, she’d rather tell them tall tales than the truth—she was born without them. It’s not until she meets a new friend with another kind of disability that she learns to accept people’s differences, including her own. Really funny, fun read.” —Slate

"A remarkable, original story with true heart, a fresh voice, and an absolutely unforgettable hero. It's a book sure to give any reader goosebumps, teary eyes, and out-loud laughs. It's a book that doesn't just open your eyes, it opens your heart." —Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Honest Truth

About the Author

DUSTI BOWLING is the award-winning, bestselling author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, 24 Hours in Nowhere, The Canyon's Edge, and the forthcoming Across the Desert and Aven Green chapter book series.

Dusti's books have won the Reading the West Award, the Sakura Medal, a Golden Kite Honor, the Silver Nautilus Award, and have been nominated for a Cybil and over twenty-five state awards. Her books are Junior Library Guild Selections and have been named best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, Bank Street College of Education, A Mighty Girl, Shelf Awareness, and many more.

Dusti currently lives in New River, Arizona with her husband, three daughters, a dozen tarantulas, a gopher snake named Burrito, a king snake name Death Noodle, and a cockatiel named Gandalf the Grey.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Union Square Kids; Reprint edition (March 5, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1454932996
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1454932994
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12 years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 700L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Children's Books on Disabilities
- #41 in Children's Mystery, Detective, & Spy
- #169 in Children's Friendship Books

Customer Reviews:
4.7 3,443 ratings

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Dusti Bowling

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DUSTI BOWLING is the award-winning, bestselling author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, 24 Hours in Nowhere, The Canyon's Edge, and the forthcoming Across the Desert and Aven Green chapter book series.

Dusti's books have won the Reading the West Award, the Sakura Medal, a Golden Kite Honor, the William Allen White Children's Book Award, and have been nominated for over thirty state awards. Her books are Junior Library Guild Selections and have been named best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, Bank Street College of Education, A Mighty Girl, Shelf Awareness, and many more.

Dusti currently lives in New River, Arizona with her husband, three daughters, a dozen tarantulas, a gopher snake named Burrito, a king snake name Death Noodle, and a cockatiel named Gandalf the Grey.

Follow her on Twitter at @DustiBowling.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

3,443 global ratings

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Jennie W

Great book

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024

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This book is great for 4th on up. I read it to see what it was about after someone recommended it to my family. Great story. We live in an area in USA that does mark twain books and they are always good picks. This is one of them.

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LoisC

Excellent thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2024

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When DIVERSITY is mentioned most people think of issues that deal with race. This book puts diversity in an entirely different light. Same issues and struggles from a younger generation perspective. This is a truly engaging book!

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ARHuelsenbeck

This prize-winning book will have you laughing with delight.

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2020

Verified Purchase

I can’t say enough about this book. It has won a boat-load of awards--too many to enumerate here.
The Middle Grade novel stars Aven Green, whose family has just moved from Kansas to Arizona to manage a tired old theme park called Stagecoach Pass. She’s about to start eighth grade, though she’s starting late.
Oh, and she was born without arms.
Not that it’s an issue for her. She can do pretty much anything she wants to, despite being different. But at her old school, she’d known all her classmates since kindergarten, and she was comfortable with them. At her new school, not only is she new, but her new classmates haven’t had much experience with someone like her.
And they’re mean. Or at least tactless.
Aven is most nervous about her new classmates seeing her eat. With her feet.
So she avoids their eyes by eating lunch in a stall in the bathroom. Or in the library.
When she meets two other students, Connor and Zion, who are also avoiding their classmates, they have an instant bond and become friends.
Aven has the run of Stagecoach Pass, and she notices some mysterious things. The old man who has worked at the ice cream parlor for sixty years acts as though he has known her forever. Also, there’s an old locked storage shed at the back of the property plastered with Keep Out signs. And Joe Cavanaugh, the owner of the park, is never on the premises.
Bowling crafts compelling characters. Aven is smart, funny, capable, and caring. Connor and Zion have deep self-esteem issues, and Aven helps to break them out of their shells. Aven’s adoptive parents are loving and positive and have shaped her to be independent. She’s also a prankster, and they give her room to be a little naughty because they find her hilarious and inventive.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus also gives readers strategies for how to interact with people who are different, rather than ignoring them or blurting out something insensitive.
Aven has creative ideas about how to attract more people to the park. She helps her parents organize an art festival, and persuades some of the artisans to rent the vacant buildings on the park property and turn them into shops.
Through persistent digging, Aven solves the park mysteries and discovers the truth about her own past.
I am thrilled to say Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus has a sequel. I plan to read it soon.

8 people found this helpful

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Katie Prestwich

Fantastic!

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2023

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This book was so much fun and very thought provoking. It’s a really great book for kids (or anyone) to read to help them understand others and be empathetic.

3 people found this helpful

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Pete Springer

A Story of Perseverance

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022

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Aven is a 13-year-old adopted child without arms. She enjoys her life in Kansas, but her family moves to Arizona to manage Stagecoach Pass, a western-themed amusement park. Aven's friends at her old school in Kansas treat her like any other student, but going to a new school is a huge adjustment. Many of the kids at her new school stare at or ignore her. Aven befriends a boy named Conner who has Tourette Syndrome. He has many involuntary tics, but barking is most prevalent, especially when he's nervous or around other people. Conner and Aven become best friends. They have to tolerate ignorant students who sometimes ask her ridiculous questions or bark at Conner.

Aven and her parents are likable, strong characters. Aven's parents are supportive, but they've taught her to be independent. She's learned to meet all her basic needs with her feet and much harder skills like playing the guitar. Conner's parents are divorced, and his dad thinks he should try harder to control his Tourette's.

They also become friends with Zion, an overweight boy with poor self-esteem. They are all afraid of being made fun of by other students. Aven tries to help each boy by encouraging them to try and overcome their challenges. She accompanies Conner to a Tourette's support group without Conner's mom knowing about it.

One aspect of the story that I especially liked was how Aven and her parents try to think of creative ways to help sustain Stagecoach Pass.

Author Dusti Bowling captures the middle school years in such a realistic way. The characterization was superb. I enjoyed this read so much that I will be on the lookout for future books by this author.

5 people found this helpful

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HAB

Teacher Approved!

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2023

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I love books that show resilience, empathy and confidence. This book has them all plus a mystery to solve. Students get so caught up with the main character they feel like she’s there with them.

One person found this helpful

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No name please

Excellent book

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2023

Verified Purchase

My entire family loved this book, ages 8, 10, 13, 14, 40-something, and half a century. The teenage main character/1st person narrator is endearing, clever, and lovable. The plot is not cheesy or pretentious. Yes, it is slightly predictable, but so uplifting. What a great read!

One person found this helpful

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Danielle

Loved this book!

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

I absolutely loved this novel! Here are a few of the things that made my heart happy as I read:

1) Aven is hilarious and a genuine middle grade voice that made me want to be her friend
2) The friendships
3) The involved, caring, supportive, and sensitive parents that taught Aven to be independent and always told her she could do whatever she wanted
4) The setting--I love the desert and the flora and fauna there
5) The mystery that intertwined with the plot and gave another fun layer to this book
6) The representation of kids who have "disabilities" according to society, and have so much more to overcome than others because of how society has stereotyped them

I already have the next book ready to read; Dusti Bowling is an auto-buy author for me.

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Top reviews from other countries

MMDB

Awesome book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2019

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My daughter has loved reading this book! Great for 12 year old girls!

Kate Bell

A unique pretext, very well done

Reviewed in Spain on May 29, 2019

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When I read the description of this book I was a little put off by the unusual setup: a child with no arms, a deserted amusement park. But the story is lovely and clips right along. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it for ages 10 and up.

AJones

Great Book for 10-13 Years Old

Reviewed in Canada on May 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

My niece (11) loved this book when I got it for her at Christmas. I bought her the second book for her birthday and she was so excited to read it! The author does a great job and she wants to read all her books!

Joanna

Great book

Reviewed in Canada on January 21, 2022

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My daughter said this is the best book she has read recently!

heather zimmerman

awesome book good price hard to find

Reviewed in Canada on December 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

this book is a very good book recommended for kids 6 and over and parents good lesons in the book buy this for anyone