All the Answers by Kate Messner starts with a funny scenario that is captivating to middle grade students: Ava is in math class with her test sitting in front of her. Despite the fact that she studied and is well-prepared, Ava begins to worry and her mind goes blank. As she doodles the question she's trying to remember the answer for, "What is the formula for finding the area of a circle?" a voice immediately answers, "[?]r2". Shocked, Ava begins to experiment and realizes that the pencil she grabbed out of the kitchen junk drawer is able to answer any fact-based question she asks it. This discovery seems like an incredible opportunity to Ava's friend, Sophie, and the girls soon begin to learn about the pros and cons of having a way to get the answers to many of their questions. 
 Ava is a girl who is easy to like. She is conscientious and a little unsure of herself at times. She loves her family and tries to do things to help others. Ava senses that things with the pencil may be a little too good to be true, and there are a few situations that help her to realize that sometimes it's better not knowing All the Answers. 
 This was a good book that had some pretty profound messages for kids. I really enjoyed it.