Squashed ANNOTATION
As sixteen-year-old Ellie pursues her two goals--growing the biggest pumpkin in Iowa and losing twenty pounds herself--she strengthens her relationship with her father and meets a young man with interests similar to her own.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Humor, agriculture and young love all come together in Joan Bauer's first novel, set in rural Iowa. Sixteen-year-old Ellie Morgan's life would be almost perfect if she could just get her potentially prize-winning pumpkin to put on about 200 more pounds—and if she could take off 20 herself...in hopes of attracting Wes, the new boy in town.
Ninth Annual Delacorte Press Prize for an Outstanding First Young Adult Novel.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In the small farm town of Rock River, folks take competitive agriculture pretty seriously--and none more so than 16-year-old Ellie Morgan, who is staking everything on a massive pumpkin named Max. With the help of her new ``grower'' boyfriend, her staunch grandma and even Max's steady, 611-pounds of support, Ellie wins both the respect of her doubting father and the blue ribbon in an exciting Harvest Fair weigh-in climax. A winner herself--of the Delacorte Press Prize for a First YA Novel--Bauer underscores Ellie's bid for top honors with the reassuring rhythm of the cycle of life. She gently and powerfully affirms Ellie's need to nurture Max in her grief for her dead mother, and celebrates with both sadness and joy the end of Max's life, as Ellie returns him to the earth to nourish the fruit of his own seeds. Squashed is fast-paced and engrossing entertainment that startles the reader with its underlying strength. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
Children's Literature
Like sixteen-year-old Ellie Morgan's father, Joan Bauer is a motivational specialist. Her heroines are sweet, feisty, funny, and ready to give their all for their occupations of choice. It might be photography or selling shoes-or in the case of Squashed, attempting to grow the largest pumpkin in Iowa. Fresh on the heels of receiving a Newbery Honor, Bauer's first book is back in print and very welcome. No matter that her plot lines are indistinguishable. What does matter is the overriding sense of humor Bauer brings to her characters. Only picture the perpetually twenty-pounds overweight Ellie hovering protectively over six-hundred pound Max (not a pumpkin, not even a vegetable¾but a full-blown character in his own right) during a hailstorm, dreaming of romance. Of course she finds romance, and captures pumpkin thieves, and ends gloriously victorious over her pumpkin-growing nemesis. It's to be expected. What's not to be missed are the delightfully raucous one-liners and tongue-in-cheek asides along the way. Bauer leaves you smiling and feeling good about life's possibilities. That's quite an achievement in today's world-and healthy for readers of all ages. 2001 (orig. 1992), G.P. Putnam's Sons, $16.99. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
The ALAN Review - Connie S. Zitlow
It requires constant vigilance to grow the biggest pumpkin in Iowa, but sixteen-year-old Ellie is determined to be the first teen to win in the adult growing division. Her secret booster solution of buttermilk and Orange Crush is one way to help Max reach 611 pounds in time for the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-in. She must also compete with frost, bugs, fungus, pumpkin thieves, and the disgusting, old Cyril Pool. Ellie misses her deceased mother, tolerates her father's motivational speeches, shares her gourmet creations with cousin Richard, tries to lose weight, and hopes her new boyfriend, a former agricultural club president, is not stolen by sweet corn coquette contestants. But she can always depend on Nana, who loves the soil, too. Funny and fast-paced, Squashed, winner of the Delacorte Press Prize for a first young adult novel, would be a delight to read aloud.
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-- This laugh-out-loud story about Ellie Morgan, 16, and her championship pumpkin, Max, is a delight. She has two goals in life: to win the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-In and to lose 20 pounds. Growing a giant pumpkin is hard enough, what with drought, insects, cold, and rot to overcome. But Ellie also has to fend off pumpkin thieves. And the biggest threat is arch-rival Cyril Pool, an unpleasant man who has raised a whopper named ``Big Daddy.'' Her widowed father doesn't approve of her obses sion with Max, but he encourages her diet with platitudes from the motivational tapes he mar kets. Her loving, no-nonsense grandmother keeps her in touch with the land and her values. Wes, a newcomer, spurns Ellie on toward both her goals. Skillful plot development and strong characterization are real strengths here. Ellie's perceptive, intelligent, and funny narrative keeps the story lively right up to its statisfying conclusion. Ellie proves herself an all-around winner. So is Max, and so is this book. --Mari lyn Makowski, Greenwood High School, SC
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