The Absolute Value of Mike (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Absolute Value of Mike Kate Quealy-Gainer Erskine, Kathryn . The Absolute Value of Mike. Philomel, 2011. [256p]. ISBN 978-0-399-25505-2 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 5-8. Suffering from dyscalculia (a learning disability that impairs his facility with numbers), fourteen-year-old Mike has always felt like a bit of a disappointment to his academic mathematician father. He's therefore not terribly surprised—but still pretty upset—when he gets shipped off to unknown relatives in rural Pennsylvania for six weeks in the summer while his dad goes off to teach a class in Romania. Although the small town of Donover has little to offer in the ways of PlayStations and wi-fi, Mike soon warms up to its host of oddball citizens and eventually finds himself leading a communal effort to adopt a child from Romania for one its childless residents. Mike's insecurities about his worth are both authentic and heartbreaking, particularly when it becomes clear that he has so internalized his father's indifference that he fails to even recognize praise from others. Thus his connections with and [End Page 517] affection for the people of Donover and his eventual success at raising $40,000 and organizing an international adoption are genuinely heartwarming. Unfortunately, the effect is marred by the book's series of contrivances, especially as the characters' losses begin to accrue: Mike lost his mother in a car accident several years ago; his great-uncle and -aunt recently lost their son, also in a car accident; Past, a local homeless guy, has lost his wife; and let's not forget Karen, the local pastor who has not only lost her spouse but also suffered so many miscarriages that now the town is intent on getting her a child, regardless of the cost. The ending, too, seems a bit rushed in its happy resolution for all and the nuances of Mike's emotional journey are sacrificed to make a more palatable message regarding the virtue of forgiveness. Despite these flaws, however, the overall effect is one of warmth and humor that may inspire a few altruistic deeds among readers. Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois