Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Empathy, disability themes in lively middle school tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS finds 13-year-old Aven Green transplanted to Arizona, thanks to her dad's new job at a Western theme park. She's missing her friends, her home, and her old life—and really dreading having to start middle school on a huge campus full of strangers. All of which would be plenty to deal with, but Aven, born without arms, has been on the receiving end of a lot of bad manners and had to deal with a lot of unusual difficulties over the years, and she's not looking forward to another round of it.
"From the time I was little, my parents had trained me to be an extreme problem-solver—like a problem-solving ninja. Even when it took me an hour to get a bathing suit on once when I was eight, they still hadn't done it for me. And I never had trouble getting my bathing suit on again. They were determined I would grow up to be a totally self-sufficient, problem-solving expert. I only wished I could solve the problem of how to make friends in a sea of kids who thought I was a freak."
Is It Any Good?
There's lots to like about Dusti Bowling's resourceful redheaded narrator, born with no arms, adopted by parents who refused to let disability define her, and coping with middle school in a new town. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus offers a lot of relatable emotion—and also a lot of insight into the practical details of living with disabilities, like using your feet to eat, knit, and play guitar, or trying not to make socially inappropriate outbursts in public when you have Tourette syndrome. The balance between storytelling (a mystery at a dusty theme park, and the friends trying to solve it) and disability issues (about which the narrator has a breezy blog) is a little uneasy sometimes, but a lot of kids dealing with disabilities, and the people who care about them, will feel seen and appreciated here.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stories like Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, with central characters dealing with a disability and going about their lives. Are there any stories like this where the character is doing a really impressive job of coping with the challenges—and maybe even taking advantage of them?
Are you or a friend or family member dealing with a condition that just makes something extra difficult in ways that people don't often recognize? What's going on, and how might you get support if you need it?
What would you find most scary about having to go to a new school in a strange town where you didn't know anyone?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Friendship
- Topics : Friendship , School ( Middle School )
- Character Strengths : Communication , Empathy , Humility , Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Union Square Kids
- Publication date : March 5, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
- Number of pages : 288
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate