BOOKS

Finding your "place" is a difficult thing to do. At some point, a lot of us feel awkward and lonely trying to figure out what our purpose in life truly is—especially in a world full of peer pressure and high expectations, where it's hard to live up to society’s definition of perfection. The one thing you can find comfort in, though, is that everyone else in the world is trying to find their place, too—like 12-year-old Alice Mayfair in The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner.

Alice has a hard time fitting in with kids her age, and is often ignored by her parents. As she enters her eighth boarding school, she must embrace her independence. Constantly feeling left out and isolated, she keeps hoping to make a friend who will stick around. Alice's hopes become reality when she discovers and rescues Millie Maximus from drowning in a lake.

Despite her blond hair and blue eyes, Millie, like Alice, also doesn’t quite fit in. She’s a Bigfoot—part of an unusual clan that live deep in the dark woods. But even within her tight-knit community she's an outcast—she's much smaller than the rest of them, and possesses a constant curiosity about the human world. Most of her tribe believes that humans (what her species refers to as "NoFurs") are dangerous people that should be avoided at all costs. Millie thinks otherwise; she's convinced that humans will learn to appreciate everything about her that her own tribe does not—whether that’s her undying courage or great singing voice. She hears the outside world calling her name.

Like any loyal friend would do, Alice swears to protect Millie's secret identity. But little does Millie know, a league of Bigfoot hunters are tracking her every move. The clan is in utter shock when they find out that Millie has escaped the place they feel she belongs. They decide to hunt her down, wanting to put her dream to an end. Now more than ever, Millie has to put all of her faith in her new best friend, Alice. In order to survive, the two girls need to build a bridge of trust and work together to save their identities.

Will Alice and Millie survive the Bigfoot hunters and find their purpose? Read The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner to find out. Pick up your copy HERE or at bookstores everywhere.

Have you ever felt like you didn't fit in? Let us know how you handled it in the comments below! 

by Yasmeena Fakhouri | 10/1/2016