Michaela Mason's Big List of 23 Worries

Michaela Mason's Worries #1

by Alexa Moses

I've been making lists ever since I could write. It relaxes me. By writing my worries down, I feel as if I'm removing them from my mind and leaving them on the paper. My secret worry list is the big boss of lists. Right now, there are 23 worries on it.

New school. New town. 23 worries. Can Michaela Mason handle it?

Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2021

About the author

Alexa Moses graduated from a masters degree in screenwriting at the Australian Film Television and Radio school convinced she wanted to write books but ended up a journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper instead and enjoyed it thoroughly. When she's not at the gym, knitting, arguing, bingeing on comedy or listening to music, she’s writing books.

Reviews

[Lian Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this book had been around when I was a (very worried) kid. It's so gently written, with humour and intrigue, and offers both a sympathetic look at worrying, and the reassurance that it's possible to triumph over fear.

A perfect book for kids who worry, who need that reassurance. And a perfect book for kids who DON'T worry, so they can understand their worried friends.

Plus it's a great story. Highly recommended.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would have to be one of the best 8-12 year old reads I’ve had in a while.

Ten year old Michaela Mason is that highly intelligent, articulate & anxious urbane kid we’ve all met.

Only, because of changed family circumstances Michaela and her mother are now living in the small country town of Wombat Flats.

In a new school, new home and new social setting Michaela draws upon all her skills and strengths (which include a love of list making, purple pens, stationery and musical theatre) to find her feet.

This pacy and beautifully designed #LoveMGOz chapter book is perfectly pitched for the stage 3 classroom. It would make a great class read-aloud, a starting point for creative writing (like Tristan Bancks’ writing tips), and ties in beautifully with the stage 3 personal development syllabus regarding positive friendships and peer pressure.

Hats off to Scholastic Publishing and author Alexa Moses. This book is sharp, witty, tightly crafted and a thoughtful book. The cover and internal designs are a homage to the story too💜💜💜.

[David Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little novel about the adventures of Michaela Mason, a feisty girl who makes lists of things to worry about (going to the dentist, chickens, balloons popping without warning...) Michaela is forced to move with her mother from the trendy city to Wombat Gully, a place which has neither frozen yoghurt nor chai latte and where she is ‘comprehensively miserable’. Here she must battle the formidable forces of the Pretty Posse, a gaggle of schoolgirls who don’t always have Michaela’s best interests at heart.
I liked lots of things about this story, but I particularly enjoyed Michaela’s propensity for making lists about all sorts of things, including a list of ‘scintillating words to work into a conversation.’ From this list I learned two words I’d never heard before: hellion and taradiddle. I’ll definitely be working those into my conversations from now on.
Five stars for that alone!

[Susanne Gervay · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so sweet and funny and I recognized those kids who write lists or need to write them so they can work out their lives. This is a delightful read. Waiting for the next book.

By the way, the book design is fabulous – just love its font, format, the lists – all winners. Love the way Michaela creates new lists and amends them and mixes them for each worry. I can see kids in schools making their lists after reading this book.

[Pam Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book:

1. is sweet
2. will appeal to students who love writing lists
3. is positive in how it deals with friendship and overcoming fear
4. contains dogs
5. has many dictionary/word explanation's can get repetitive ('repetitive' means doing or saying things several times) but this also echo's the main characters behaviours
6. will suit primary and lower secondary students

[Liz Ledden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a gorgeous, funny and heartwarming read - totally relatable, especially for kids prone to worry (and who isn't?!).

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bursting with empathy, this story follows an anxious kid struggling with, and overcoming, her fears… and learning how to choose wonderful friends along the way.

[Heather Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super fun read about a girl with chronic anxiety who chronicles much of her worries in lists. Michaela is forced by her single Mum to move to the country. Unhappy about leaving her friends in the city and joining 'the wrong crowd', this covers lots of material that would resonate with young readers. As a reformed dog-phobic, I particularly related to Michaela's intense fear of dogs and really enjoyed how this element of the story played out.

[Chelsea Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my 12 year old son who suffers from anxiety. I think He recognised some of his own emotions in the book. I think it was good for him to realise other kids feel the same way as he does, even if their worried are different. It gave us a basis to talk about how he is doing and how he would have handled his worries in the situations Michaela is in.

[Tricia Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a gorgeous book about an anxious young girl Michaela. I wish I had a book like this when I was younger. A book about new beginnings, facing fears and dealing with the “cool crowd” in primary school. Such a wholesome read.

[Georgia Hellsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome!

[Lisa Siberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the exact book I would have loved reading when I was a kid. I sped through it, and now my daughter is too. Looking forward to reading the second in the series.

[Bron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this aloud with miss 7, wonderful and relatable.

[Amita · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an older person i can say this was a very simple read but still fun i would recommend to about 9-12 year old maybe older

[Annaleise Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Australian author and screenwriter Alexa Moses introduces a likeable and nuanced main character in this middle grade novel about moving towns, making friends and facing fears.⁣⠀⁣⁣

Ten-year-old Michaela Mason has a lot of worries. ⁣So many, in fact, that she keeps a list of them… along with various other lists such as ‘scintillating words to work into conversation’ and ‘reasons why we should go back to the city’. Michaela is not happy about moving to a country town with her mum and having to start over in a new school.⁣⁣⁣

Life at the new school starts off well when Michaela becomes friends with three girls who call themselves the ‘Pretty Posse’, even though she’s not into boys and makeup like they are… but then they come up with an ‘initiation’ for Michaela that doesn’t sit right with her. What can she do when her other friendship options are limited, and having no friends is high on her list of worries? Also, how will she deal with all the DOGS (her number one fear, which is always capitalised in her head) that live in this town?⁣

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this book is the thoughtful character development. As in real life, people are complicated and contradictory, confident in some situations and insecure in others. Michaela makes a less-than-ideal choice that she must subsequently make right, one member of the ‘Pretty Posse’ suffers from her own fear while another simply seems to lack the courage to step away, and even the adult characters have moments of relatable frustration. Not every fear or flaw has neatly disappeared by the end of the story, leaving plenty of scope for future books in the series.⠀⁣⁣

This is a well-written and relatively quick read recommended for fans of realistic fiction along the lines of The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins and Judy Blume novels. It would be a particularly suitable for tweens experiencing friendship dramas, as its satisfying ending reinforces the importance of sticking to your values and finding friends you feel comfortable and safe with.

This review was first shared on StoryLinks Australia.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 1 out of 5]

There seems to be a new trend in children's books that is getting on my nerves something horrid. It's that the narrator (in this case, Michaela) interrupts her story to tell you what words mean. Michaela even puts in a "(that means...)" in a letter she writes to her mother. Jeepers! I assume that the character should know that her mum doesn't need the explanation.

It's patronising and unnecessary. Don't treat your readers as ignorant. If you really have to, put a glossary in the back, but you don't interrupt (that means hold up, defer, interject, or stop what you're doing to do something else) your (that means something that belongs to you) story (that means a piece of writing or a tale you are verbally (that means spoken) telling) to patronisingly (that means treat as a stupid child) "teach" (that means to impart knowledge) your reader (that means someone who is reading what you have written).

I might be able to handle it two or three times in the entire book, but not almost every page! Seriously, it's enough to make me want to stop reading after just 30 pages!

Later....

I managed to finish it by reading with a pen and crossing out the unnecessary sentences. There are some really weird vocabulary choices, like “this open, steady girl”. No 5th grader describes another kid as “open and steady”. Perhaps the author had been watching Bridget Jones and forgot her character.

Overall, this book was a huge let-down to what I was expecting. I wouldn’t have liked it myself as a kid, but it might be ok if you have a slightly immature non-reader 8 year old girl.