The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister (review)

Fourth-grader India McAllister is hoping to have some adventures as soon as possible. En route, she and her best friend, Cody, spend a night watching for UFOs (and think they find one); she encounters a strange musician when chasing her runaway dog; and she gets lost in the woods during a late Maine snowstorm, proving that adventure is all around her—she just has to notice it. India's voice is easygoing and enjoyable, and the chapter-book format, with one "adventure" per chapter, is reassuringly manageable; the plentiful marginal illustrations, in robust sketches with handwritten commentary, give the book an invitingly notebooky flavor, adding to its accessibility. The adventures aren't very excitingly related, though, and they sometimes fall flat or fail to conclude key points (do India and Cody ever figure out if they saw a UFO? Does the nice neighbor who lost her purse ever get her precious photographs back?). The book is also rather overladen with background issues, from India's international adoption to her mother's breast cancer to her father's departure and subsequent acquisition of a live-in boyfriend. Its approachable flavor may nonetheless reassure youngsters still finding novels a bit daunting, and it could make a useful chapter-by-chapter readaloud or gentle step-up for advanced primary-grade readers.