This book would be a great middle elementary pick. It reminded me of the Junie B. Jones series. The author writes in a style that reminds me of Barbara Park, too. If your kids like Junie B., they will like Samantha. She is basically a 4th grade Junie. She’s curious and precocious; her mind always busy.

Samantha loves science and bugs. Her mouth and mind can be so busy that they sometimes get her into trouble. This sentence is an example of something Sam said that I think sounds like what an older Junie B. might say, “I look down at my desk and park my lips together so no more bug information crawls out.” The author used this fun and unique description to show Sam trying to use self control in school. She was restraining herself because she wanted to give all the answers.

When Sam hears a local bee farm is going to be sold and the bees will be sent elsewhere, she becomes concerned. She knows how important bees are for the local ecosystem, so she gathers her friends to try to save the bee farm and keep it from being sold to a developer who would build houses on the land. Along the way, she learns about friendship and self control. She discovers she has some misperceptions about her best friend making a new friend. There is a maturing you see in Sam’s character; a coming of age.

I would definitely recommend this book. It has a little bit of everything. Humor. Friendship. Family. Curiosity. Community. Conservation. Becoming.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I like that Samantha likes bugs (especially since bees need help nowadays), BUT "something is bugging" me about the girl-boy relationships in this book. Why are future boyfriends an issue in 4th grade? There is plenty of time for that later. And, of course, boys teasing girls because they like them is something that should be encouraged to change, not tolerated by girls.

Something Is Bugging Samantha Hansen by Nancy Viau is currently scheduled for release on August 28 2019. Ten-year-old Samantha Hansen loves science! In the beginning of fourth grade, she never let a moment go by without talking about rocks. Now she’s back with a new obsession: insects! Upon learning that the local apiary is for sale, she goes into action to save the honey bees. Will her someday boyfriend Todd or her best friend Kelli be part of her plan? Will That Kid Richard get in the way? Sam’s lists of insect facts and funny thoughts highlight her quest to keep the bees in the community, the challenges she faces at school, and her ongoing struggle with her temper. Join Samantha as she looks to science for answers and does her part to change the world.

Something Is Bugging Samantha Hansen was a read with some good points, and some low points. I really enjoyed that facs about bees and other insects were part of the story. I also liked that the larger idea of friendship changing and having more than one good or best friend is possible. Most of all, I liked the encouragement to get involved with causes that are important to you, such as saving the bees. The dealing with frustration and anger, counting and channeling the energy towards better things, were fairly well done as well. The friendship battles, dealing with changing interests, new friends, and peer groups seemed very accurate to me- as a mom and someone that has worked in an elementary school. All of that was what kept me reading. I was a little annoyed with the 'boyfriend' seeking, and the leaning on the idea that a boy teases a girl because he likes her. Can we not continue with that? I would much rather boys learn to give their attention in better ways, and girls not be in the position where they have to deal with that or be tasked with changing that boy's behavior by giving him the attention they want. I think that sets a bad president for both boys and girls. I also had some trouble becoming engaged with the story as a whole- the writing style just did not click with me, but I think that is more a matter of personal preference than anything wrong with the technique.

Something Is Bugging Samantha Hansen is an interesting early chapter book that will strike a chord with some readers. The story just did not wow me, despite some very well done aspects.

Something is bugging Samantha Hansen by Nancy Viau is a middle grade book that covers so many different subjects from the importance of having friends to be able to make a difference by trying to save the bees. I loved that Samantha as a character and how she interacted with the people around her from her sister jen who she used to argue with to the changes in her friendships at school when she realised that her best friend Kellie was being friends with another girl. To cope with all these changes Samantha tended to stomp when she was angry and used to count to ten in spanish but all this changed when she realised that their dog kitty who was a stray was scared of the stomping and it made Samantha think and calm down. It was such a good read and would recommend to anyone who was interested in such subjects as science therefore i am giving this 4 star rating

I received an arc of this book from netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Younger kids who like bugs might like this, but otherwise, it's skippable.