Humor, agriculture and young love all come together in Joan Bauer's first novel, set in rural Iowa. Sixteen-year-old Ellie Morgan's life would be almost perfect if she could just get her potentially prize-winning pumpkin to put on about 200 more pounds—and if she could take off 20 herself...in hopes of attracting Wes, the new boy in town. ( )

Reread ( )

A light hearted young adult novel with a truly original plot - a girl obsessed with growing a champion pumpkin. Recommend it for those teens who really don't fit in, especially those with a green thumb. ( )

I think I like this better then Hope Was Here. The only thing was the relationship (Ellie and Wes) was centered around agriculture and all they did was try to make the pumpkin grow as well as later on corn. How can they be in a relationship and not do or talk about anything else? That aspect of the story was really weird. ( )

Ellie is determined to grow the largest pumpkin in her town and finally win the contest at the fair. Not only will she finally beat her competition, but she might have a chance with the guy she's interested in.

Small town life, friendship, giant pumpkins, and a touch of romance add to the fun of this novel by award winning author.

Here are some lesson links I put together for this book - http://www.teachingseeds.org/1/post/2014/01/squashed-by-joan-bauer.html ( )