Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Book of Dares for Lost Friends by Jane Kelley - OPTIONAL

Kelley, Jane Book of Dares for Lost Friends, 304 pages.  Feiwel (Macmillan), 2015.  Content: G.  

Val is convinced that she and her best friend Lanora will take middle school by storm.  Lanor, however seems to be after something different and ignores Val before they even arrive for the first day.  While Val is confused by Lanora’s behavior, she finds her own way, joining the soccer team and finding an eclectic group to hang with at lunch.  Lanora, meanwhile seems to have found her way into the queen bee clique, becoming someone Val doesn’t even recognize any more.  Val is convinced that Lanora has been cursed and maybe with the help of Tamsan, who lives at the local curiosity shop, she can find a way to free her friend.

I found the mystical, and then not mystical tone of this book to be confusing.  I wish the author had just owned the use of magic within the book or left it out all together.  Plus, I work with middle school students every day and don’t feel like this really represents something that would interest most them.  I would rather give them a more realistic book about the ebb and flow of friendships.

MS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

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