Erica, aka "Chia," along with her genius younger sister and nightmarishly bratty 2-year-old brother, are told that their mother has breast cancer. She has a mastectomy, and then begins radiation treatment, which keeps her sick most of the time. The two sisters and their father each try to cope and help in their own way. Erica makes a promise to a saint that she will enter a 5K, Walk for the Cure race, and then promises herself that she will get at least 500 people to sponsor her. She is determined to keep her promise and reach that goal, but it's much harder than she expected... especially with school troubles, boy troubles, sister troubles, and friends who only partially understand what she is going through.
The "mood ring" of the title was a silly, pointless gimmick. All through the book, Erica checks the color of her ring to see how she feels. I found this irritating. When a person is angry, or joyful, or confused, etc. they don't need a toy ring to tell them how they feel. The book also would have been improved if 2-year-old "Gimme Jimmy" had been launched into outer space before the book began. His presence added nothing to the story, but just served to make the reader hate and loathe him every time he appeared.
The story was meaningful and had promise. Although it didn't fail to deliver entirely, I found a these and several other distractions, either in story or writing style, to be a detriment to an important topic that isn't addressed enough in middle grade literature. ( )

I HATED this book because there wasn't much detail. It didn't have anything that was exciting to read in it. ( )

This is a 2014 Lone Star selection. It is a realistic fiction novel about a girl who is dealing with being a teenager while her mom deals with breast cancer.

Chia is excited about summer until she finds out her mom has cancer. Her family decide to visit a famous Catholic church to make a promesa. She asks for healing for her mom and promises to do something. It’s not a bribe to God; it’s a thank you promise. Chia decides to sign up 500 people to sponsor her in the 5K Komen Breast Cancer walk. Signing up 500 people is harder than one might think.

In addition to her promesa, Chia helps take care of her little sister Carmen who is ridiculously smart in math. In fact, when school starts back up, 8th grader Chia is compared to her 6th grader sister. Her teachers assume she’ll be as smart as Carmen. Carmen’s promesa is to clean the bathroom, which leaves Chia doing everything else in the house.

This is not a depressing novel at all. It’s realistic but not sappy. Chia has great friends and her story is interesting. Her parents are also good parents. Her dad goes a little crazy with everyone being quiet to let mom rest, but he only does it out of love. I see this novel as appealing more to girls and I recommend it. I liked it. ( )

A worthy pick for 2014-2015 Texas Lone Stars, Diana Lopez's Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel explores a subject that many of our teens are grappling with but have little opportunity to fully face in literature. Erica is your typical teenager but like great characters she is likeable (a must in becoming engaged in the story, I believe). The book deals frankly with the raw emotions and is a must-read! (Even for us older folks.) ( )

Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel was another book I wasn't sure I wanted to read. This wonderful book came with another book that I had requested and I wasn't planning on including it with the Best of 2013 Middle Grade reads until I read it ~ it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

This book opens with your typical, everyday 7th grade, hyper boy vigilent teen ager focused on what all little 7th grade girls are aware of. You have boy/clothes/when am I going to reach the "close encounter of the #1, 2, 3 or 4th degree (involving boys - but you already figured that out right?)" crazy girls (plus one boy in their group who is just starting to be aware of Erica and she hasn't a clue (of course).

But then Erica's life changes - her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. I was very pleased with how the author didn't brush over the subject, worked through Erica's emotions, her dad's worry about his wife and Erica's little sister's almost OCD counting and need to clean. There is a LOT of information, emotions and kids are given some tools they can use with major events in their lives. Most of all I loved how Erica stepped forward and helped around the house - taking care of the cleaning and her little brother as best as a 13 year old can. In many ways she took over much of the organizing of their home - and the resulting consequence would be eye opening for kids & their families.

I was very impressed with this book all around. The only thing I was a little un-impressed about was the parents in the book take the kids to a "shrine" where people make promises to the "Virgen de San Juan del Valle" in order to heal the people in their lives. The parents in the book take the kids there and have their kids make a promesa but of course don't do a good job of making sure the girls understand that nothing they do can heal their mother. Instead of putting their fear and trust in God they turn to promises, the Virgin Mary and works to hopefully heal their mom.

Parents should take the time to read the book first or at least read it with their daughters. Talk about how God is there to support us and while He can heal us sometimes he doesn't choose to. Talk about how we can help others, support and encourage each other and how we can let our friends know we are there if they need us. I would of LOVED to see a list of discussion questions with this book. It's outstanding and should be on each library shelf & in each school.

There is a strong hispanic presence in this book and you'll find some cultural references throughout the book, not just in language, but in religion and this provides a great opportunity to discuss cultural differences and different beliefs and thoughts as well.

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review on CCB. I was not required to post a positive review and no $ exchanged hands. Thanks for reading CCB! ( )