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Dani Argyle Takes on the Universe
Dani Argyle is a high school student whose best friend is a ghost ~ the ghost of her father who has been missing for three years. Because her mother is overwhelmed with grief, Dani is left to fend for herself and her deaf younger brother.
Dani feels like she’s fighting the world. Her peers do not accept her because she is overweight; her school is ill-equipped to handle an astute girl with ADHD, and the popular girls hate her for attracting the attention of the mysterious student from Japan. When everything about her life makes her feel confined and powerless, her only goal becomes dropping out of the institution that makes her feel stupid. But when Dani discovers that a psychic has been gutting her mother’s finances, she finally has an adversary worth fighting . . . if only she can control her emotions long enough ~ and trust her new romance deeply enough ~ to out-con a con artist.
This book includes discussion questions for class, small group, and individual reflection.
Dani feels like she’s fighting the world. Her peers do not accept her because she is overweight; her school is ill-equipped to handle an astute girl with ADHD, and the popular girls hate her for attracting the attention of the mysterious student from Japan. When everything about her life makes her feel confined and powerless, her only goal becomes dropping out of the institution that makes her feel stupid. But when Dani discovers that a psychic has been gutting her mother’s finances, she finally has an adversary worth fighting . . . if only she can control her emotions long enough ~ and trust her new romance deeply enough ~ to out-con a con artist.
This book includes discussion questions for class, small group, and individual reflection.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 29, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 11, 2025
I really enjoyed reading this YA novel. It is written by a high school teacher and I truly appreciated her insights into the adolescent brain. It has given me a new perspective (not to mention making me want to finally read Dante’s Inferno!) I wished my teens would read this book.
July 29, 2025
In this coming of age novel as fierce as its name, Dani Argyle takes on grief, high school bullies, new relationships, a manipulative psychic, and wondering what there is to look forward to when everyday seems to be against her. She feels marginalized at school and is fiercely protective of her deaf younger brother, and caring for him is one of the common reasons she butts heads with her mother, who is trapped in the grief / hope that Dani’s father is still alive after disappearing years ago in a disaster relief operation. It's the story of a girl figuring out who she is and who she wants to be. Oh, and there's also lots of references to the Divine Comedy.
Dani is a complicated, compelling protagonist. After years of putting up withe unsolicited opinions from others, she's outspoken and unafraid to ruffle feathers if she thinks she’s being treated differently for her identity, her appearance, or the fact that her father is probably dead (but people won't say so). Her anger, sadness, and other feelings in reaction are so real and understandable, but at the same time I also empathize with the adults in her life who are not equipped to handle her aggressive attitude. Should Dani be bullied? No. Should she talk back to teachers as a consequence? Also no, but there's plenty of finger-pointing to go around.
While Dani isn't a model student, she's passionate about literature, and I loved how she and her friends dove head first into the Divine Comedy. Their spontaneous decision to live-tweet in the personas of Dante and Virgil took me right back to high school and that unique time when friends will become super nerds in a niche topic before moving on to a new obsession.
In some ways, this story took a different direction than I'd expected. It's very emotionally charged, and can be a lot to take in. Readers be aware, there are references to loss, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. Dani gets away with doing some things that, while justified from her point of view, aren't advisable (vandalizing a business, for example). Her father's ghost is present a few times across the book, but I wouldn't call this a supernatural story. And a minor distraction - tildes replace dashes throughout (squiggly ~ is fun, but...also a lot).
In the end, Dani's story is about a girl facing up to everything stacked against her and finding the path to overcome.
**Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review with YA Books Central. See YABC for more reviews!**
Dani is a complicated, compelling protagonist. After years of putting up withe unsolicited opinions from others, she's outspoken and unafraid to ruffle feathers if she thinks she’s being treated differently for her identity, her appearance, or the fact that her father is probably dead (but people won't say so). Her anger, sadness, and other feelings in reaction are so real and understandable, but at the same time I also empathize with the adults in her life who are not equipped to handle her aggressive attitude. Should Dani be bullied? No. Should she talk back to teachers as a consequence? Also no, but there's plenty of finger-pointing to go around.
While Dani isn't a model student, she's passionate about literature, and I loved how she and her friends dove head first into the Divine Comedy. Their spontaneous decision to live-tweet in the personas of Dante and Virgil took me right back to high school and that unique time when friends will become super nerds in a niche topic before moving on to a new obsession.
In some ways, this story took a different direction than I'd expected. It's very emotionally charged, and can be a lot to take in. Readers be aware, there are references to loss, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. Dani gets away with doing some things that, while justified from her point of view, aren't advisable (vandalizing a business, for example). Her father's ghost is present a few times across the book, but I wouldn't call this a supernatural story. And a minor distraction - tildes replace dashes throughout (squiggly ~ is fun, but...also a lot).
In the end, Dani's story is about a girl facing up to everything stacked against her and finding the path to overcome.
**Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review with YA Books Central. See YABC for more reviews!**
April 15, 2025
This book is extremely well-written and beautifully infuses allusions to classic literature through the trials & tribulations of Dani—a teenager who is confident in her beliefs but often critical of herself and her abilities/choices due to her ADHD, weight, and first romantic relationship. This piece of YA fiction references old tales but does so in a modern, relatable way through the experiences of a refreshing, complex, and unlikely heroine—a self-deprecating, but entirely witty and brilliant, adolescent navigating loss, love, and education in modern society.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews