The Bigfoot Files by Lindsay Eagar - ADVISABLE

The Bigfoot Files by Lindsay Eagar, 371 pages. Candlewick, 2018. $17

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Miranda is the middle school student body president and is looking forward to the summer leadership camp she has worked so hard for. There is just one thing standing in her way - her mom. Her mom keeps pulling her out of school to go on cryptozoologist expeditions and if Miranda misses any more school she will have to do summer school and miss her camp. Miranda hatches a plan to get her mom to stop looking for big foot and be more responsible. This plan involves going on one last expedition. 

I enjoyed this book, especially the relationship between a type-A daughter and free-spirited mom. I didn’t enjoy the writing though. It was lovely, but much to descriptive for a book that hung mostly on the plot. You get a good feel for the inner-landscape of Miranda, but it really slows down the book. Miranda copes with her stress by pulling out her hair, which may open dialogue for some students who have self-harm habits, but it is never resolved in the book.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher