Mud Girl

by Alison Acheson

Aba Zytka Jones (Abi) doesn't expect to get anything from anybody. Her dad's stuck in his chair and her mom's taken off, but she's going to work out what to do on her own. At least that's what she thinks. Sixteen, almost seventeen, Abi Jones hasn't got cool clothes, friends, or, since last year, a mother. What she has is a lot of questions. And a need to make a life of her own. Abi lives with her dad in an odd little house by the Fraser River. Over it, actually. Sometimes the water flowing under the house makes her think they'll both be swept away some day. The summer before her last year of high school, Abi's solitary life begins to change. A woman she calls Ernestine - because she's so earnest - becomes her Big Sister. The cute guy from the paint shop, Jude, starts to take an interest. And a girl called Amanda offers Abi a summer job cleaning houses, work Abi enjoys more than she could have imagined. Jude and his two-year-old son, Dyl, present some urgent new questions and Abi has to find the answers fast - what Jude wants from her and how she feels about it; what Dyl might need from her. The life of Abi Jones, the Mud Girl, might be the last thing any teenager would choose. But it's her life, and Abi has to find out whether she's got the courage and intelligence to live it well.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Canada

317 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2006

About the author

I live and write in the east side of Vancouver, Canada.

I write for all ages and in multiple forms, from picturebooks, MG and YA novels, to memoir and adult novels and short fiction. I have a Substack newsletter, The Unschool for Writers.

https://unschoolforwriters.substack.com/

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but there was really no point to it

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good. i feel like it wrapped this up a little too quickly...

[Ereeny Kamel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good read but I was just a little disappointed with the way it ended, it just needed a bit more to fully complete the book.

[Darlene Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful YA novel, realistic, heartbreaking, and full of emotion. Abi is a teenager with more problems than your average teen. She is struggling to survive in spite of her dysfunctional family life. It's hard enough being a teenager without being abandoned by her mother and living with a father who is there in body but not in mind. The author created many interesting characters that move the plot along nicely. Abi befriends a kind bus driver, a woman who wants to be her big sister, a single dad, a young eager entrepreneur and an adorable two-year-old. The setting, a house built over the river, adds to the story. I loved so much about this story and highly recommend it.

[Hasti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aba Zytka Jones (Abi) doesn't expect to get anything from anybody. Her dad's stuck in his chair and her moms taken off, but she is going to work out what to do on her own. At least that is what she thinks. Sixteen, almost seventeen, Abi Jones hasn't got cool clothes, friends, or, since last year, a mother. What she has is a lot of questions. And a need to make a life of her own. Abi lives with her dad in an odd little house by the Fraser River. Over it, actually. It's this location that gives her the nickname "Mud Girl." Sometimes the water flowing under part of the house makes her think they'll both be swept away some day.

The summer before her last year of high school, Abi's solitary life begins to change. A woman she calls Ernestine - because she's so earnest - becomes her Big Sister. The cute guy from the paint shop, Jude, starts to take an interest. And a girl called Amanda offers Abi a summer job cleaning houses, work Abi enjoys more than she could have imagined.

Jude and his two-year-old son, Dyl, present some urgent new questions and Abi has to find the answers fast - what Jude wants from her; how she feels about it; and what Dyl might need from her too.

The life of Abi Jones, the Mud Girl, might be the last thing any teenager would choose. But it's her life, and Abi has to find out whether she's got the courage and intelligence to live it well.

Alison Acheson's teen novel Mud Girl was a finalist for CLA's Book of the Year. She has also publish two juvenile novels and a picture book. Alison Acheson has taught in the creative writing program at the University of British Columbia, and continues to teach and write in the town of Ladner, BC, where she lives with her spouse and three sons it was sooooooooooooooooooooooo boring

[Cynthia Heinrichs · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get into this book because the pace is slow and meandering and I was only reading a few chapters a night before bed, but after about 50 pages I found it calling me during the day. I love the truth of the characters in this story. The dad that can't get it together, the girl who is trying to, but doesn't know how because A. she's a kid and B. no one ever showed her how. I love the mature, centred character of Amanda who takes Abi under her wing. That's how it should be! But this story isn't tied up in a pretty bow at the end. It's very real and true to life and that means there's a lot of pain in it. But pain that Abi and other characters can handle. And that's what life is about, isn't it?
I have to say that the most important part of the story for me was the interaction between Abi and Jude. Jude epitomized the self-centred boy who only wants one thing. The author handled this character and his interaction with Abi perfectly, in particular the way he charmed her from the start, but couldn't help but reveal aspects of his nature that were not in line with the image he was presenting. He's a user, but will Abi realize it in time? Every teenage girl should encounter a Jude in the pages of a book before she does in real life. And she should encounter the 'nice boys', like Amanda's brother and friends, as well. They counter the Jude character perfectly and show what girls should expect from boys.

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mud Girl...how can I describe this book? Sweet, definitely. Innocent. Hopeful, in a way, though it seems that there is little to be hopeful for. I loved it's circling nature; the way it avoided saying some things specifically. I also liked that it wasn't really a book about love, even though romance was a theme clearly suggested on the back cover. More or less, it was about a girl who was trying to make things work again. And who, eventually, did.

[Goldie Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is it so hard for an author to sum up their works. If it is then i don't believe the work is ready for publication. The characters wern't worth the time of day, the plot line was basiclly non-exsistent; of course the interweaving of the charcters (wich happens to be my favorite apsect of any work) was nihil.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the characterisations, especially of Abi and Amanda, and the pace - languid dusty fields contrasted with purposeful action of Abi's summer job and how she handles the responsibility of Dyl. Hopeful tone of someone taking control of out how to create good in life when it isn't immediately apparent or handed to you.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for people who don't mind a very slow read. I liked the main character a lot though. It felt almost as if you were reading a biography because of how real Abi seemed. The only character I didn't like was Jude, he was such an ass! All in all it was really good book and the only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it was one of the slowest books I've ever read.

[Kaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the worst book in the world. What I didn't like: Ok. After the first half of the book I am convinced she misses her mother and doesn't understand her leaving. GOT IT. Also, Did not like her getting out of the "final" confrontation with Jude. Seemed too easy and nicely wrapped up.
Did like: Hells yes, go with Dyl. Horace. That is all.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good coming of age story set near the Fraser river. I thought this had some interesting characters and I liked how the main character was affected by her father's depression. It also had a few surprises. It was a quick read for me.

[Lori Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was between a 3 and a 4 star book for me, I really liked some parts a lot, but some parts I just didn't get at all. I was so not fond the Jude, but the ending for me was a bit meh. A quick fast read.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a good "issues" book to give a lost teenage girl.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plodding plot, kinda muddy. get it! Didn't like the main character much.

[Scherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book

[Jc · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the shortlisted titles for the CLA Young Adult Book Award in 2007.

[Ilford Dectol · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's quirky. It's great. This girl's life is odd, but it's interesting.