Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO SOME
7th grader Lyla is so glad to be in Ms. Bowman's class because she's getting to work on her fantasy novel in Creative Writing! (Last year her teacher was all about 5 paragraph essays - ugh). She is full of ideas, but can't seem to get anything down in her notebook, except a list of names, a "family tree" and a map. She's got a lot on her mind this year, her best friend went to a different school, her parents and her sister seem to be always fighting, and she hasn't yet made any real friends - just Journey, who she really only eats lunch with. She's stuck; her teacher calls it writers block and has lots of suggestions to break it, but Lyla thinks they won't work. She wants to have something to enter into the library's writing contest but so far she has only a great first sentence.
I really love Barbara Dee's stories. Lyla drives me crazy, always so hard on herself, but not accepting any help or trying new ideas. I know some kids who can relate. There's also a subplot about figuring out her friend situation and dealing with some problems at home that keep the book moving. Not full of tough topics as some of Dee's recent works have - Anxiety (Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet), Bi-polar - (My Life in the Fishtank), Sexual Harassement - (Maybe He Just Likes You). The characters default white.
Lisa Librarian
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