Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Life of a Cactus Series, Book 1

By: Dusti Bowling

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker

Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The audio edition of the best-selling 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 that 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.

©2017 Dusti Bowling (P)2019 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Charming and memorable. An excellent choice for middle grade collections and classrooms." (School Library Journal Starred Review)

Good read and audible

I enjoyed this book and I'm happy I listened to it with my daughter. At first to keep her on track with school, but overall good book.

Not what I expected. Good premise...a little cookie cutter

I am reading these for the battle of the books at my school next year. I am the librarian at an elementary school. The description of the book makes the story sound a little trite. I was happily surprised by the depth of the characters and the great message it is sharing with kids. I enjoyed the story but found the ending to be unrealistic. I don’t want to spoil for anyone but things don’t always work out great for everyone facing these challenges...just saying.

Why the performance gets four stars.

It had a really good storyline, although the reader should have done different voices for the boy characters. They all sounded the same, except for the dad.

Wonderful--fun and funny

I loved everything about this book! Highly recommend for people of all ages and sexes.

The life of a cactus

This book was so good! It’s literally my favorite book! I loved it because I have a genetic disease called celiac disease and I am so Embarrassed about it but then I found this book and realized I’m not alone so I definitely recommend this book.😁👍

Amazing!

I may have already written a review on this book, but still! This book is great!

Read this book!🤩

This was one of my favorite books! The story is amazing! I recommend this to all readers!

Grab this one; you won't regret it.

This was an amazing book and I loved the narrator. I thought the whole set up of the "discoveries" were good, but it was a bit too predictable. Still, I loved that the mystery-hunting was not the focal point and yet was meaningful to understanding the character and her nature. The narration was fabulous at helping convey all if the characters ages and emotions. This is a great story of perseverance, fun, and humanity and I will continue recommending it to friends :)

Super Cute

I don’t know why this took me two years to read, but I’m so glad I took my students’ advice. It’s super cute, and I even shed a few tears (though I easily do!). Great for upper elementary.

Wonderful, positive book

I loved it! This is a great book for staying positive over the circumstances. This is good for adults and young adults alike - not just geared toward young adults.