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Something Maybe Magnificent
There’s a new man in her mom’s life, and Victoria is determined to get rid of him—no matter what. Both a standalone novel and a follow up to The First Magnificent Summer, this pitch-perfect middle grade story is destined to become a classic.
Thirteen-year-old aspiring writer Victoria Reeves remains dedicated to writing in her diary as her reading tastes evolve from Virginia Woolf to Sylvia Plath. She’s growing up—getting the hang of her monthly “visitor,” coming to terms with her relationship with her estranged father, and grappling with her ever-evolving views of womanhood. But the summer brings unexpected bumps along the way when Victoria develops complicated feelings about the cute boy next door and decidedly un complicated ones about her mom’s new boyfriend.
To protect her mom—and the family dynamic she’s used to—from this unwanted interloper, Victoria will do what it takes to send him packing. But when she goes too far, Victoria realizes all she’s done is ruin a good thing for her mom. Is it too late to set things right?
Thirteen-year-old aspiring writer Victoria Reeves remains dedicated to writing in her diary as her reading tastes evolve from Virginia Woolf to Sylvia Plath. She’s growing up—getting the hang of her monthly “visitor,” coming to terms with her relationship with her estranged father, and grappling with her ever-evolving views of womanhood. But the summer brings unexpected bumps along the way when Victoria develops complicated feelings about the cute boy next door and decidedly un complicated ones about her mom’s new boyfriend.
To protect her mom—and the family dynamic she’s used to—from this unwanted interloper, Victoria will do what it takes to send him packing. But when she goes too far, Victoria realizes all she’s done is ruin a good thing for her mom. Is it too late to set things right?
416 pages, Hardcover
First published May 28, 2024
4 people are currently reading
2585 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Toalson
13 books64 followersArnold Adoff Poetry Honor award-winning MG author, poet | THE COLORS OF THE RAIN | THE WOODS | wife, mom of 6 (boys), long-distance runner, tea drinker
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 8, 2024
This was a good read. I enjoyed her first book better.
June 8, 2024
I read the first book in the series and thought it was very advanced for middle school children. This book however would hold the interest of a middle school child. Victoria has never heard the expression. Be careful what you wish for because you might get it. After spending the last summer with her father who is remarried, Victoria is very sad that this year he is not available. When she finds out her mother has boyfriend, Victoria decides she has to take matters into her own hands and reclaim her mother. I really liked her grandmother who was a wise woman.
October 19, 2025
DNF victoria is super annoying and i usually love middle grade
May 30, 2024
“It’s okay to let your guard down. It’s okay to let yourself be seen. It’s okay to share your heart with other people. Not everyone will be gentle with it. Some will etch little cracks in it. Some will make giant breaks. But cracks and breaks eventually mend. Hearts hidden behind thousand-foot-high, twelve-inch-thick walls don’t. They don’t even get the chance.”
Victoria ends her story of the summer before 8th grade with this thought after finally allowing Kyle to step into her family’s life as her mother’s husband and some kind of dad for her, older brother Jack and younger sister Maggie. In the first book about Victoria and her family, Dad has left for another woman and deeply wounds them with the jagged and permanent break he makes from all four. Now, mom has met a new man who is doing all that he can to demonstrate that he wants to be a permanent part of the family but Victoria is just as determined to make him leave.
The anxiety felt by Victoria over so many things is palpable and almost overwhelming. She is afraid of her dad calling and not calling, she fears the loss of her best friend but continues to push Sarah away, and her preoccupation with the changes in her body presses down on not her, but readers as well. Ultimately, the message of allowing people to know you and be a real part of your life comes through, but at no point is there any suggestion that Victoria (and likely the whole family) needs help processing the grief and damage caused by Dad’s abandonment and Victoria, specifically, could benefit from some counseling over ways to cope with anxiety and an unhealthy view of her own body. Author R.L. Toalson demonstrates a real gift in conveying the depth of emotion felt by Victoria throughout the book but this is definitely not a title for everyone and some could find it triggering should they have similar family trauma or battle body image-related anxiety.
Text is free of profanity, violence and sexual content. Race of all characters is left up to the imagination of the reader except that Victoria is pictured as Caucasian on the book cover I had. While a sequel, I read this one easily without having read The First Magnificent Summer. Recommended for grades 5-8.
Thanks for sharing an electronic arc with me, Edelweiss.
Victoria ends her story of the summer before 8th grade with this thought after finally allowing Kyle to step into her family’s life as her mother’s husband and some kind of dad for her, older brother Jack and younger sister Maggie. In the first book about Victoria and her family, Dad has left for another woman and deeply wounds them with the jagged and permanent break he makes from all four. Now, mom has met a new man who is doing all that he can to demonstrate that he wants to be a permanent part of the family but Victoria is just as determined to make him leave.
The anxiety felt by Victoria over so many things is palpable and almost overwhelming. She is afraid of her dad calling and not calling, she fears the loss of her best friend but continues to push Sarah away, and her preoccupation with the changes in her body presses down on not her, but readers as well. Ultimately, the message of allowing people to know you and be a real part of your life comes through, but at no point is there any suggestion that Victoria (and likely the whole family) needs help processing the grief and damage caused by Dad’s abandonment and Victoria, specifically, could benefit from some counseling over ways to cope with anxiety and an unhealthy view of her own body. Author R.L. Toalson demonstrates a real gift in conveying the depth of emotion felt by Victoria throughout the book but this is definitely not a title for everyone and some could find it triggering should they have similar family trauma or battle body image-related anxiety.
Text is free of profanity, violence and sexual content. Race of all characters is left up to the imagination of the reader except that Victoria is pictured as Caucasian on the book cover I had. While a sequel, I read this one easily without having read The First Magnificent Summer. Recommended for grades 5-8.
Thanks for sharing an electronic arc with me, Edelweiss.
December 23, 2024
We need another book with this character
June 26, 2024
“I will love you so hard you’ll have trouble forgetting how magnificent you are.”
I’ve listened to many, many audiobooks already this summer. Every second that I have while doing computer work or housework or driving in the car, I’m listening. And I’ve enjoyed many stories, but today I finished one *in print!!!* and hugged it tight.
Last year I read Rachel Toalson’s novel The First Magnificent Summer. I seriously loved it. I thought about some of our students who were not in ideal home situations, struggling with a really tough parent who wasn’t all that good at loving them. And it felt like this book was finally seeing those kids and so much of their fear, anger, sadness, bravery, and hope in the pages. So without a doubt, when it was announced that a follow-up story would be released, I preordered it… and Something Maybe Magnificent arrived earlier this month.
I read the whole thing within the last day, and my heart is beating so fast thinking of how much is in these pages; how many kids who have blended families will devour this book and soak in every word to their hearts. I could not recommend these two books more. Love, love, love. 💛
- - -
“The rest of the boxes had all sorts of random things in them. I felt like I was looking at a flea market stand, pre-setup. Not one of them had any books, though.
And you can't trust a person who doesn't like books.”
“He’ll be a good one.
You know that now.
He’s never been anything else.”
***Before she left my doorway, I said, "I don't think I'm a great feminist anyway."
Memaw turned and squinted at me, like she didn't quite catch my meaning.
"I like makeup too much," I said.
Memaw's eyes crinkled a little, like she was smiling on the inside but trying not to on the outside. "We're all feminists, Victoria." She lowered her voice when she said, "Even those of us who like pretty clothes and makeup." And lower: "Even when we marry for love."***
“I want everything to stay the same
I want everything to change”
***”I'm sorry for not letting you all the way in," I said to the ground. “I'm sorry I kept my walls so high you got tired of trying to climb them."
“I talked with my dad," he said. "He said that the people who matter don't ever get tired of climbing over your walls."
The people who matter.***
"I wish things could have turned out better with your dad, but I'm also glad they didn't. Because it means I get to be some kind of dad to you. The kind who chooses you and who doesn't leave when things get hard and who will try his best not to ever, ever hurt you the way you've been hurt already. So I'm here for the challenge… I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re my best friend, and even though the whole world is changing, you can count on me to stay.”
“Cracks and breaks eventually mend. Hearts hidden behind thousand-foot-high, twelve-inch-thick walls don’t. They don’t even get the chance.”
“May we all be loved. May we all be cherished. May we all open our hearts to the people who step into our gaps.”
I’ve listened to many, many audiobooks already this summer. Every second that I have while doing computer work or housework or driving in the car, I’m listening. And I’ve enjoyed many stories, but today I finished one *in print!!!* and hugged it tight.
Last year I read Rachel Toalson’s novel The First Magnificent Summer. I seriously loved it. I thought about some of our students who were not in ideal home situations, struggling with a really tough parent who wasn’t all that good at loving them. And it felt like this book was finally seeing those kids and so much of their fear, anger, sadness, bravery, and hope in the pages. So without a doubt, when it was announced that a follow-up story would be released, I preordered it… and Something Maybe Magnificent arrived earlier this month.
I read the whole thing within the last day, and my heart is beating so fast thinking of how much is in these pages; how many kids who have blended families will devour this book and soak in every word to their hearts. I could not recommend these two books more. Love, love, love. 💛
- - -
“The rest of the boxes had all sorts of random things in them. I felt like I was looking at a flea market stand, pre-setup. Not one of them had any books, though.
And you can't trust a person who doesn't like books.”
“He’ll be a good one.
You know that now.
He’s never been anything else.”
***Before she left my doorway, I said, "I don't think I'm a great feminist anyway."
Memaw turned and squinted at me, like she didn't quite catch my meaning.
"I like makeup too much," I said.
Memaw's eyes crinkled a little, like she was smiling on the inside but trying not to on the outside. "We're all feminists, Victoria." She lowered her voice when she said, "Even those of us who like pretty clothes and makeup." And lower: "Even when we marry for love."***
“I want everything to stay the same
I want everything to change”
***”I'm sorry for not letting you all the way in," I said to the ground. “I'm sorry I kept my walls so high you got tired of trying to climb them."
“I talked with my dad," he said. "He said that the people who matter don't ever get tired of climbing over your walls."
The people who matter.***
"I wish things could have turned out better with your dad, but I'm also glad they didn't. Because it means I get to be some kind of dad to you. The kind who chooses you and who doesn't leave when things get hard and who will try his best not to ever, ever hurt you the way you've been hurt already. So I'm here for the challenge… I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re my best friend, and even though the whole world is changing, you can count on me to stay.”
“Cracks and breaks eventually mend. Hearts hidden behind thousand-foot-high, twelve-inch-thick walls don’t. They don’t even get the chance.”
“May we all be loved. May we all be cherished. May we all open our hearts to the people who step into our gaps.”
August 31, 2024
I was happy to get another summer with Victoria and once again enjoyed her voice. Her family is one I love and they each have distinctive traits that make them seem real. This book centers around Victoria's desire to get rid of her mom's boyfriend and readers don't learn the real why until too late in the novel. Based on that, the daily planning and events to make Kyle want to leave felt repetitive and often not believable because Kyle only seemed like a loving, responsible adult who really wanted to be a father figure and supportive partner for this family.
Victoria struggles with anxiety and often spirals under stress. No adult recognized this and tried to help her find tools to deal with this times. Victoria was abused by her father in the first book and this was overlooked by her mom and grandma; I'd hoped this violence would have been addressed in book two. When Victoria resorts to violence, this was also ignored and no consequences other than her own guilt were enforced.
Victoria struggles with anxiety and often spirals under stress. No adult recognized this and tried to help her find tools to deal with this times. Victoria was abused by her father in the first book and this was overlooked by her mom and grandma; I'd hoped this violence would have been addressed in book two. When Victoria resorts to violence, this was also ignored and no consequences other than her own guilt were enforced.
May 14, 2024
A joy to be back with Victoria and her siblings and this case a much better circumstance than her previous summer/book.
In this one you see Victoria navigate her moms new relationship with her boyfriend… Victoria feels conflicted… her mom seems happy, but what if there’s still a chance her estranged Dad and her will get back together. Victoria decides to plot against her moms new BF and tries to convince her mom he’s not the one.
Much like the first one you get you get a mish mash of journal entries, quizzes and poetry. Love the lack of technology due to the 90s era and all else this time period presents. As someone who comes from a blended family and grew up in the 90s these books are little treasures I wish I had read back then!
Thank you Simon Kids & Simon Audio!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
In this one you see Victoria navigate her moms new relationship with her boyfriend… Victoria feels conflicted… her mom seems happy, but what if there’s still a chance her estranged Dad and her will get back together. Victoria decides to plot against her moms new BF and tries to convince her mom he’s not the one.
Much like the first one you get you get a mish mash of journal entries, quizzes and poetry. Love the lack of technology due to the 90s era and all else this time period presents. As someone who comes from a blended family and grew up in the 90s these books are little treasures I wish I had read back then!
Thank you Simon Kids & Simon Audio!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
November 5, 2024
Book 2 but stands alone fine
Victoria is struggling with the fallout of her parents divorce. Her dad has started a new family and doesn't call or spend time with her or her siblings anymore. Her mom is struggling to pay the bills. However, mom has also found a new boyfriend but Victoria detests him, even though he appears to be a decent, kind, hard-working man. Victoria sets out to sabotage the relationship. Victoria also struggles with anxiety, friendship, and other issues.
There is a strong message of letting down your walls to let others in, to give people a chance. I do take umbrage with the incident where the best friend lies to Victoria and Victoria later feels compelled to apologize to the friend. This doesn't set good boundaries for building relationships.
CW: parental neglect
Grades 5-8
Victoria is struggling with the fallout of her parents divorce. Her dad has started a new family and doesn't call or spend time with her or her siblings anymore. Her mom is struggling to pay the bills. However, mom has also found a new boyfriend but Victoria detests him, even though he appears to be a decent, kind, hard-working man. Victoria sets out to sabotage the relationship. Victoria also struggles with anxiety, friendship, and other issues.
There is a strong message of letting down your walls to let others in, to give people a chance. I do take umbrage with the incident where the best friend lies to Victoria and Victoria later feels compelled to apologize to the friend. This doesn't set good boundaries for building relationships.
CW: parental neglect
Grades 5-8
May 20, 2024
I was hoping there would be less of the negative side of divorced families in this follow up to The First Magnificent Summer. I was disappointed to see the novel mostly centered on Victoria's antics to break up her Mom and her new boyfriend. I would have preferred to see Victoria grow more as a character and see what good she can do because of her growth. Middle grade readers may like this one, but I'm afraid the subject matter will turn some readers away because it's all too real for their personal lives.
March 7, 2024
*Expected publication May 28, 2024
"I was so excited to have a chance to read the second book in this series early since I loved the first one too. This one really tells a character point of view and I like that each chapter starts with a time stamp. I like that even with trouble, good things can come out of it. I like that she eventually lets a stepdad into the story to help her mom. Can't wait to recommend it to a friend and already told my librarian we need to buy this one." -Cadee, age 11.
"I was so excited to have a chance to read the second book in this series early since I loved the first one too. This one really tells a character point of view and I like that each chapter starts with a time stamp. I like that even with trouble, good things can come out of it. I like that she eventually lets a stepdad into the story to help her mom. Can't wait to recommend it to a friend and already told my librarian we need to buy this one." -Cadee, age 11.
June 5, 2024
Think summer romance and hoping your mother & her lover don't get more involved, that's what's in store for readers. Victoria Reeves (13) is clever and thinks of lots of tricks and pranks, but she can't quite make her mother's friend / lover go away.
While teens and tweens might like this one, I couldn't relate. Ah well.
Thanks to the BookLoft of German Village (Columbus, OH) http://www.bookloft.com for an ARC to read and review.
While teens and tweens might like this one, I couldn't relate. Ah well.
Thanks to the BookLoft of German Village (Columbus, OH) http://www.bookloft.com for an ARC to read and review.
August 28, 2024
Told through a mix of prose and verse, Victoria's insecurities about friends, family, and soon-to-be family are on full display. Victoria revisits the previous summer's disaster and wars within herself about whether she should give her mother's new boyfriend, who soon becomes her fiancé, a chance. Ultimately, she decides to shut down the relationship with whatever means possible in order to save her family from further pain. Does that turn out to be the best option, though?
July 15, 2024
Great book about family as Victoria decides she doesn’t want mom marrying Kyle. Can she break them up?
July 1, 2025
Victoria’s voice continues to shine through as she deals with typical teenage toils such as friendship, puberty, sibling relationships, and a new man in her mom’s life.
July 2, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In the summer of 1994, a year after The First Magnificent Summer, Victoria is staying at home with her mother, older brother Jack, and younger sister Maggie because her father has declined having them visit him and his new family. Her mother struggles financially, but owns her own home. Victoria's father hasn't been in contact since their disastrous summer, and hasn't even sent child support, so there's a general lack of clothing and food, something that is occasionally remedied by Meemaw, who drives regularly from Houston to visit and bring junk food. Victoria is still obsessed with writing and reading authors like Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf, and we see her thoughts expressed in poetry and magazine style quizzes as well as her journaling. She has a new hobby, running, and when she is out one morning, meets a neighbor boy her age, Eli. Eli lives with his stepfather, but seems to like him, something that Victoria can't understand. Her own mother has been dating Kyle for a while, and she hates his presence, even though he brings pizza once a week, spends time interacting in a positive way with the children, and even rebuilds the front steps of the house. Victoria enjoys Eli's attention, and frequently runs with him, although she is very busy cleaning the house, making sure her siblings are safe, and trying to conserve the scant food her mother supplies. She also struggles with puberty, and is very angry about it, thinking a lot about the problems that her Visitor causes. When her mother announces that she and Kyle are going to be married in November, Victoria rallies her siblings around her and embarks on a well-thought-out and mean-spirited plan to scare Kyle off, even though he even buys her products to take care of her skin after her use of peroxide on her face accidentally bleaches her bangs. Kyle laughs off most of the pranks, but when Victoria punches him and says she hates him after his dog attacks her dog in an initial meeting of the two, Kyle finally leaves. Will Victoria be able to make peace with the way her family is changing, and realize that her father is never going to reenter the picture, no matter what happens with Kyle?
This is a snapshot of how some families operated in the 1990s; tween children were left alone all day in the summer, menstruation wasn't discussed even with one's own mother unless absolutely necessary, and more mental health support was given by Seventeen Magazine than by adults in children's lives. Kyle was actually a VERY understanding boyfriend who made enormous efforts to ingratiate himself with not only Victoria's mother, but also with the children and Meemaw. He was endlessly helpful, and much more positive than the children's father, who was abusive. Kyle even cooked, which was not that usual for the 1990s, and was attentive to the mother. Victoria's relationship with Eli was charming, and I loved that they ran together. There is a happy ending to this one, which definitely lightened the tone after Victoria's detrimental pranks.
There is a growing trend to protray the nitty gritty of puberty, and while Victoria's experience may be set in the 1990s, the treatment of some issues is still roughly the same. Perhaps books like this will make it easier for readers to embrace period positity now that we are in a new millenium!
Readers who themselves are interested in the dark and complicated world of Plath or Woolf and who enjoyed the portrayal of struggling blended families in Knisely's Stepping Stones, Torres's The Do-Over, or Leavitt's North of Supernova will be glad to revisit Victoria's troubled 1990s childhood.
In the summer of 1994, a year after The First Magnificent Summer, Victoria is staying at home with her mother, older brother Jack, and younger sister Maggie because her father has declined having them visit him and his new family. Her mother struggles financially, but owns her own home. Victoria's father hasn't been in contact since their disastrous summer, and hasn't even sent child support, so there's a general lack of clothing and food, something that is occasionally remedied by Meemaw, who drives regularly from Houston to visit and bring junk food. Victoria is still obsessed with writing and reading authors like Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf, and we see her thoughts expressed in poetry and magazine style quizzes as well as her journaling. She has a new hobby, running, and when she is out one morning, meets a neighbor boy her age, Eli. Eli lives with his stepfather, but seems to like him, something that Victoria can't understand. Her own mother has been dating Kyle for a while, and she hates his presence, even though he brings pizza once a week, spends time interacting in a positive way with the children, and even rebuilds the front steps of the house. Victoria enjoys Eli's attention, and frequently runs with him, although she is very busy cleaning the house, making sure her siblings are safe, and trying to conserve the scant food her mother supplies. She also struggles with puberty, and is very angry about it, thinking a lot about the problems that her Visitor causes. When her mother announces that she and Kyle are going to be married in November, Victoria rallies her siblings around her and embarks on a well-thought-out and mean-spirited plan to scare Kyle off, even though he even buys her products to take care of her skin after her use of peroxide on her face accidentally bleaches her bangs. Kyle laughs off most of the pranks, but when Victoria punches him and says she hates him after his dog attacks her dog in an initial meeting of the two, Kyle finally leaves. Will Victoria be able to make peace with the way her family is changing, and realize that her father is never going to reenter the picture, no matter what happens with Kyle?
This is a snapshot of how some families operated in the 1990s; tween children were left alone all day in the summer, menstruation wasn't discussed even with one's own mother unless absolutely necessary, and more mental health support was given by Seventeen Magazine than by adults in children's lives. Kyle was actually a VERY understanding boyfriend who made enormous efforts to ingratiate himself with not only Victoria's mother, but also with the children and Meemaw. He was endlessly helpful, and much more positive than the children's father, who was abusive. Kyle even cooked, which was not that usual for the 1990s, and was attentive to the mother. Victoria's relationship with Eli was charming, and I loved that they ran together. There is a happy ending to this one, which definitely lightened the tone after Victoria's detrimental pranks.
There is a growing trend to protray the nitty gritty of puberty, and while Victoria's experience may be set in the 1990s, the treatment of some issues is still roughly the same. Perhaps books like this will make it easier for readers to embrace period positity now that we are in a new millenium!
Readers who themselves are interested in the dark and complicated world of Plath or Woolf and who enjoyed the portrayal of struggling blended families in Knisely's Stepping Stones, Torres's The Do-Over, or Leavitt's North of Supernova will be glad to revisit Victoria's troubled 1990s childhood.
December 29, 2025
This is the second book in the series and I really hope it continues. I connected to so many parts of this book which made me love it even more. There were so many parts where I laughed and had to write down. 5 ⭐️’s!!
April 21, 2025
A note about how I rate books: 5 Stars - It was life-touching amazing; 4 Stars - I liked it so much I will recommend it to others without being asked; 3 Stars - It was a good read that I will recommend to members of the target audience; 2 - It was okay; 1 - It was not for me, but that doesn't mean it's not for others.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews