Squashed is set in Rock River, Iowa, a small farming community where the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-in and Harvest Fair takes center stage as the biggest annual happening in town. The community's focus on agriculture not only lends credibility to the plot, but also it provides a concrete way of visualizing the sense of belonging and shared history so important to the story's themes, for it is the land and the working of the land that ultimately teaches Ellie, the main character, who she is.

The novel is set during the years when small family farms were the norm for the area, probably before the 1980s, and ties to the land passed from generation to generation. Ellie's father, however, has rejected that heritage. On her small residential lot, Ellie competes with adults to grow the biggest pumpkin ever seen at the festival. She finds comfort in knowing that...