Reading is my ESCAPE from Reality!

A good friend is one of the hardest things to keep in this life. Don't forget that sometimes you have to work at it.

--Chapter 19

 

Sometimes you are friends with someone just because you're used to it, and maybe you forget why it happened in the first place.

--Chapter 9

 

Trying to figure out why things change is probably even harder than trying to figure out how they started.

--Chapter 9

Elise is starting 6th grade. She is trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. Both her parents are dead and she was raised by her Aunt & Uncle. When she turns 12, she finds a key to one of the 8 locked rooms above the barn. When she opens the first one, she realizes that her father left the key and the room for her. And, there are 7 more locked rooms, but where are the keys? This is a good time for Elise to find out more about her father. She is having difficulty with school, with bullying and with figuring out how to be a good friend.

This is a cute story and Elise is a nice girl, but she makes some not so nice decisions. Still, she is a likable character. There isn't much new or exciting in this story but it is a enjoyable read. Elise grows and learns a lot during the course of the story about who she is and who she wants to be.

Recommended to:

Young girls in grades 3-6 will enjoy this story. I think it will help them learn more about empathy and how to be a friend.