Allergic

As the novel opens, Maggie faces several changes and sees them all as bad because she wants her life to stay how it is. One of the main ways she grows as the story progresses is by learning to accept change, both changes she can anticipate (like a new school and a new baby in her family) and those she can’t (like not being able to get a puppy because of allergies), and to make the best of changes that come her way. She also learns that change can be good and to look for opportunities in changes rather than dread them.

One change Maggie confronts is that school district zoning changes force her to attend a new school beginning in fifth grade. She won’t know anyone at her new school, and she doesn’t anticipate anything good coming from this change. Additionally, her mother is going to have a baby. This will change the dynamics in her family, and she anticipates that these changes will have a negative effect on her life. Then, after she sets her heart on adopting a new puppy and becoming a veterinarian, she learns that she won’t be able to do either because she’s allergic to animals with fur or feathers.