MMGM Review: Waiting for Augusta, by Jessica Lawson

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I love a good lighthearted ghost story. I love stories that explore the parent-child relationship without being too, oh, grown-uppy about it. ("Grown-uppy" is a thing. Just ask my six-year-old.) And I really love stories about sports, games, hobbies, or pursuits that I don't know much about that portray the passion for the activity without confusing the reader. (Think Where the Red Fern Grows for coon hunting, The Cardturner for bridge, or Code Name Verity for flying.)

Jessica Lawson's Waiting for Augusta is all of those things, and I just loved it. (Of course!)

From the publisher:

"Eleven-year-old Benjamin Putter has a lump in his throat, and he’s certain it’s a golf ball. He knows it sounds crazy, but everything’s been topsy-turvy since his father died last month. And he doesn’t know how to fix it.

Then, one day, something starts tugging at Ben, telling him to hurry to Augusta, Georgia—home of the most famous golf course in the world.

Ben might be going a little crazy, but escaping Hilltop, Alabama, sounds like a darn good idea. (And just maybe it will make that lump go away.) As he makes his way to Augusta, Ben partners up with a mysterious runaway named Noni, and they embark on a journey full of strange and wonderful surprises—and possibly magic—at every turn."

So that doesn't actually say much about the whole ghost story element, or the father-son relationship factor, and not very much about golf, either. Honestly, it's hard to talk much about those elements without getting really spoiler-heavy. But they're there, and they work fabulously well, in that I-wish-I'd-thought-of-doing-that! kind of way.

Here are some of the non-spoilery things that impressed me most about this book:

1) The power of voice. 
Like I said, I'm not really into golf. I've never golfed, nor do I have much interest in ever doing so. For me to love every second of a book that mentions golf nearly every page, you have to have a character and voice that I can't help but follow. Ben's 1st person narration draws you right in, and keeps you there.

2) Secondary characters.
Noni, especially, is a treasure of a secondary character. If Ben wasn't the narrator, there'd be a danger of Noni taking over the story--and that's a good sign that the character is interesting enough and rings true. 

3) Interesting descriptions.
Jess Lawson's books all have just the right balance of these, and that's one of the reasons I won't hesitate to pick up anything she wrote. Here's an example from Waiting for Augusta:
"...a handlebar mustache big enough to make a fur coat for a baby pig." Honestly, there were at least a half dozen gems like that, but I didn't have pen or paper handy to write them down.

That's all very writerly analysis, but the simple truth of the matter is: Waiting for Augusta is one darn good coming of age story. It doesn't need to be over-analyzed to be thoroughly enjoyed.

Check out Shannon Messenger's blog to find some other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations!

(Disclosures: 1. NetGalley provided me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 2. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so if you make a purchase after clicking through the photo-links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.)