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!

Wonderful story about teen years

I love the characterization in this book. The author did a great job creating characters that I could see in my mind. I also enjoyed hearing about people that overcome their difficulties and come out strong. I gave this book a good rating in all areas because it was a really good book.

Amazing book

Interesting story! the narrator did a good job with the voices. 10/10 would read again!

One Of The Best Books I’ve Ever Read

This book was such an inspiring story about a girl with no arms. I thought the story was really amazing and loved the details. Another thing I absolutely loved was that her friends were “different” too. I learned a lot and it totally touched my heart. This is truly one of the best books I’ve ever read. 😍👏🏼

Wonderful book for the whole family

Our family thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I’m glad my son’s teacher assigned this book in class. We love listening to the story. (Ages 36, 10, and 7)