Rose and Thomas are 12 year old twins, but they are as different as they can be. Rose is almost six feet tall, extremely gifted both academically and musically, (four grades ahead of Thomas) while Thomas is 4’7” and a very average student who struggles with math and reading. However, even as different as they are, they are still close.

One spring day, their lives suddenly change. Their neighbor and dear family friend, Mr. Pickering, injures himself severely when he falls down his basement stairs. However as he enters surgery and prepares for a long hospital stay, his only concern is a very special seed that is beginning to grow in his basement. Reluctantly, because it takes time away from her cello practice time (she’s preparing for a scholarship audition), Rose agrees to help Thomas nurse the seed along. And even after Mr. Pickering comes home, the kids continue to help. In fact, the entire neighborhood joins the adventure of growing the special seed, which is a giant pumpkin.

I really liked the relationships among all of the characters and the teamwork and camaraderie they developed as they all contributed to growing the giant pumpkin. Both the adults and children in the close knit neighborhood were caring and kind to one another. I especially liked Rose’s cello teacher, her mom and her Grandma who encouraged Rose, who was very much a perfectionist, take time for fun!

This book is a little longer than most middle grade books (over 400 pages), but the great story will keep you reading!

I must be honest as I start this review. I love the cello. I started playing at 11, went to a music school of choice in high school, and minored in music in college. And I believe that the Bach Cello Suites are some of the most beautiful pieces of music in existence. All of these facts may have made me a bit biased when it came to Giant Pumpkin Suite.

Rose is one special young lady. She is a prodigy of the cello and academics. She is taking college courses and has skipped grades and is in high school at age 12. And at the beginning of the book because of all of these things, she has lost what it is like to be a child. The only child-like thing she does in the first 50 pages or so is read Charlotte’s Web, which is her favorite book. Everything else in her life is structured and serious. But then something happens and everything changes. This is where the pumpkin comes in.

Rose truly transforms in this novel in a way that is believable yet amazing. The girl at the end of the novel seems so far away from the young lady you meet at the beginning, but as a reader, I loved the transformation. Rose is one amazing character who really finds who she is because of all the people in her world who truly do care for her.

Speaking of the other people, I loved the supporting cast in the novel. Hill did a great job making sure every character in the novel had their own personality and story and each played such an important part. I felt like I was part of the neighborhood by the time I was done with the book. And it isn’t only Rose that grows throughout the book. I loved seeing how Thomas, Jane, and other characters really found themselves throughout the book.

This wasn't an instant love for me, I feel like it was more of a slow burn kind of book. I liked Rose and Thomas fine, but I wasn't connected to them very deeply at first. But then, as the whole community came together due to the pumpkin, I felt myself getting more and more attached. If you're looking for a sweet book about family and community, this is the one for you.

I had the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this middle grade novel from NetGalley in exchange for this review. I really enjoyed reading this book. The novel shares the story of a family’s summer of healing and growth. Twelve-year-old Rose is very tall for her age, very mature, and a very talented cellist. Her twin brother, Thomas, is often mistaken for her younger brother. While Rose is busy preparing for an important musical competition, she and her brother help their neighbor, Mr. Pickering, with a giant pumpkin growing project in his back yard. When a freak accident occurs, everyone’s plans are altered, and the pumpkin project becomes even more important than ever.
I love how the pumpkin growing project brings together the folks in this Minneapolis/St. Paul neighborhood and allows everyone opportunities for the growth and healing that they need. This neighborhood has a rich diversity of culture and personality, and I think middle grade kids should read books that encourage tolerance and acceptance of all kinds of people and families. I also like that this novel introduces young people to music and classic movies that they might not ordinarily experience. I found myself finding Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach Suites for Cello on Spotify, so I could listen to them. I’m always pleased to find different music to enjoy. Also, the librarian encourages Rose and her friends to watch movie musicals such as The Music Man, Hello Dolly, and My Fair Lady. Again, young people might be inspired to check these out.
The book has great messages for middle grade students. The recurring theme of healing and repair is applied not only to Rose and her circumstances, but also to her friends and neighbors, who are dealing with their own issues. At over four hundred pages, the book may seem a bit long, especially to kids. But, the story is very engaging, and I found it to be a fairly quick read.

In this story for middle grade readers, twelve-year-old Rose Brautigan is a driven cello player and something of a prodigy. Her goal is to win the Bach Cello Suites Competition. She has a fraternal twin, Thomas, but he is much more relaxed and fun-loving than Rose, who thinks she must do everything perfectly.

I love the cover and the fact this book is from a prodigy's point of view, rather than the "ordinary" sibling or a friend. Rose is not the most likeable character, and her obsession with the cello makes her rather remote from the reader of any age. But the incidental characters are diverse and interesting, and the relationship between Rose and her pumpkin-obsessed brother Thomas grows nicely. I just wish the book had received as much care from an editor as the pumpkin does from all and sundry, and then they'd both be complete winners. Still, I think a child who likes their books long and thoughtful will like it.

I enjoyed Giant Pumpkin Suite, even though I felt it was a little long. It is a story about fulfilling one's dreams, even when those dreams don't take the path you hoped or expected. Rose and Thomas encounter both serendipitous and orchestrated changes which lead to a fulfillment they didn't think possible. They connect with a cast of characters, both young and old, who help boost them up when an accident happens and things are looking bleak.

The 'accident' that happens leads to all the other events unfolding, and the gentle way it is dealt with has the reader relishing the story. Dreams, as we initially hope they would come true, do not always meet our expectations... it is how we handle the outcome that defines our maturity and sense of self.
Overall a good story, but may not appeal to everyone because it doesn't have a lot of fast paced adventure that takes place.

It's clear from the beginning that Hill is leading us somewhere specific. What isn't clear is what that ultimate destination will be. Even on reflection I'm not 100% certain what I was meant to learn from this book. There's a lot going on, a number of subtle messages vying for real estate. A giant pumpkin is an odd device for lessons about pressure and disappointment, but not an altogether unsatisfying one.

Siblings who approach summer vacation with different plans reflecting their varied personalities makes for a feel good story perfect for young kids. Great well-developed characters will pull at the heart strings.

Rose is an incredibly driven child; more like an adult trapped inside a few feet of cuteness trying to make her mark upon the world. A cellist who the word exceptional doesn’t seem to describe her ability enough and who takes OCD to a new level for someone so young. Her narrow minded focus is causing her other relationships to fall by the wayside even with her twin brother.

Rose wasn’t the easiest character to like with her borderline narcissistic attitude towards her musical talent and how she treats those who care about her like her brother and neighbor. Though she begins to round off those hard edges and it’s this evolving growth in her personality that helps win you over.

Her twin has found a cause to focus on as he jumps in to help his neighbor with growing pumpkins. This says much about the character of a young boy who would put an adult neighbor’s welfare above typical summer pursuits. But as Thomas finds the challenge a bit much on his own, his sister manages to find time to fill the gap.

The pressure on her to perfect her talent while helping her brother builds until a trick of fate changes everything for them both.

The other characters like those involved with Rose’s cello playing and the neighbors may not take as much space in the story but the parts they fill are important and meaningful. No one feels like filler or just there to pad the page count. I enjoyed the diversity especially as it seemed to accurately reflect the modern setting the story is set in.

If you’ve ever been curious on how to grow a pumpkin reading this will definitely give you the foundation as the author obviously did some well detailed research to provide a realistic story. It ended up making my daughters and I try our hand and although we managed a few before the heat in Texas destroyed our plants it was fun taking something out of a book and putting it into practice. We learned some things along the way so next year maybe we can have our own prize winning pumpkin.

You’ll also get a crash course in classical music which was another real world lesson we were able to jump into as I showed my daughters YouTube videos of cellists playing Bach’s compositions and we googled information about him and others.

There is also a look at some of the richness of the Japanese culture and thankfully our city is hosting a tea and overview soon so I can’t wait to take my girls so they can get an in person perspective of what the author used.

The only negatives I see is that the beginning is so focused on music that if you aren’t interested it’ll probably be hard to hold your attention and it’s a little on the long side so it might be hard to hold the attention of the younger audience unless they break it up into small bits. I read this to my daughters a few chapters every night which made it easier to keep them interested.

I appreciated that even if we didn’t get a happy perfect ending, it was a realistic one that provided a great life lesson.

As a gifted musician, Rose is singularly focused on her music. Rose and her twin Thomas are very different but have an amazing, strong, twin connection. Thomas is happy-go-lucky and an average student while Rose has skipped a couple of grades, now attending high school and even college math classes. After an accident that seriously injures her left hand Rose must adjust to a different way of thinking. With extra time on her hands she helps her brother grow a giant pumpkin. Soon it becomes a community project involving the entire neighborhood.

There is so much focus on her music in the beginning I can see a child struggling through this initial part. It was often during my reading that I felt there were so many things going on that all the concepts were tripping over each other - the cello, contest, unreasonably hostile Maestro, gay couple, united nations neighbors, pumpkin, bad decisions, injury, friendship, parent in jail, sleazy judge, music teacher's move that no one talked about, emerging crushes, and perception of people.

The story did pick up and after the initial slow "language-of-music" chapters and I did enjoy it.

ARC copy for review...very much a good, middle grade summer read. I liken the themes of community and bonds within the community as outlined in the nieghborhood effort in growing the giant pumpkin plus the stories of their neighbors the kids learn about, ex the Japanese neighbor and the story of her broken yet beautiful bowl.

The Giant Pumpkin Suite is set in Minnesota where twelve-year-old Rose and her twin brother Thomas have very different plans for their summer vacation. Rose is an exceptional cellist and student, skipping ahead in school. She is very driven, setting her goals onto sticky-notes, "sit more" and "win the Bach Cello Suites Competition," for which she plans to play her cello every free minute she has. If she can manage to win the competition, she is sure to get a fellowship with Maestro Waldenstein, one of her life long dreams. But, playing her cello all the time will also leave very little time for Thomas or her neighbor Jane. Even the best-laid plans can dramatically change when their neighbor, Mr. Pickering is injured after falling down his basement stairs and Thomas takes over growing Mr. Pickering's pumpkin seed. A responsibility that turns out to be too much for Thomas to handle alone, so Rose unwilling steps in to help. At first, everything is going well Rose is doing the research and Thomas is performing the day to day chores to help the pumpkin seed to sprout, but then Rose is involved in a serious accident altering all of her plans for the future. Now growing a prize winning pumpkin for the Minnesota State Fair takes on a new meaning for both of the siblings, but with a little help from their neighbors, they might even be able to win.

At a first glance, Rose comes off as a slightly unlikable character, maybe because of her over confidence in her musical abilities or just because of how she treats her brother and neighbor Jane. After she is injured, Rose spends more time on her brother's project and she begins to grow and change. It's her character growth that I enjoyed most about the story. Although, I also really liked Rose's Cello teacher, Mrs. Holling who recognized that Rose was burning herself out with practicing her cello so much and forced her to play for no more than one hour per day. Giant Pumpkin Suite also includes lots of details about how to grow a prize winning pumpkin, including how to pollinate the flowers, composting and even the mail-ordering of worms. Things initially I didn't think I would be too interested in, but it really started to grow on me, growing a giant pumpkin seemed to take a lot of work and the whole process was pretty fascinating to read about. Rose has such a passion for playing the Cello and I learned quite a bit about Bach. For example, I never knew Bach included math, puzzles, and ciphers into the structure of his music and that the number fourteen held a significance to him. Rose also had a fascination with numbers taking the letters of a persons name and the corresponding number for their place in the alphabet to determine a total numerical value. So, for example, the sum of the letters in Bach's name equaled fourteen, she also used this strategy to classify people as a good or bad person. Giant Pumpkin Suite included many diverse neighbors for Rose and Thomas, with one being Japanese, Latina, and a gay couple who become actively involved in helping with the project as well. Mrs. Kiyo was delightful and I especially enjoyed reading about the Japanese tea the siblings shared with her with all the lovely details about wagashi cookies. I thought this was a wonderful sibling story and although it was sad when Rose was injured and her ability to play the cello was changed, things were still resolved in a happy if not realistic way.

Favorite lines when Mrs. Kiyo is describing a bowl that was broken and repaired with gold, "The gold reminds us that beauty is found in the story of the object, its history,” said Mrs. Kiyo. “The bowl is more beautiful, more valuable, for all that has happened to it.”