Hook:

“I don’t really think about Mom or Dad much. They are mostly just an empty hole inside me, a forgotten feeling of long ago. I never knew Mom at all, because she died when I was born, and Dad was gone when I was three. After the doctor told Dad he had a year or two to live, he wrote me a bunch of letters for my birthdays, so I hear from him once a year. Uncle Hugh has the letters-somewhere, I don’t know where, I’ve looked.” (Page 18)

  

Recommendation:

Have you ever lost someone you loved? In this book the character Elise loses both her parents and goes to live with her aunt and uncle. Elise and her best friend, Franklin, are getting ready for their first year of middle school, and the day before that, Elise falls down a hill and gets scabs on her legs. When she enters the school, this bully, Amanda, also her locker partner, squishes her lunch, throws everything in the back so her things have room, and calls her ‘Scabular.’ So Franklin spots her sitting really madly and asks if things are okay, and she says no. She’s having trouble getting her homework done, and her Uncle Hugh sets up a goal journal with her. Her father set up rooms with his and Mom’s things that she can discover when Uncle Hugh and Aunt Bessie think she’s ready. She discovers her mom’s favorite reading chair, all the books her father read, and her mother’s stuffed bear, Miles. She finds a journal that stated all the things she did before her father died. She stopped reading it when she had tears in her eyes. Uncle Hugh got worried when she found the first key, but Bessie reminded him that they both agreed that she was ready for it. Elise then unlocks the biggest mystery of all: herself. What do you think will happen next? I would like to recommend this book to kids who enjoy mystery books. I would specifically recommend this book to Mrs. Ryan because I bet she’ll love it.

 

I hope you enjoy this book!

 

Blogger: Abby

Author: Suzanne LaFleur

Book : Eight Keys

Genre: Mystery / Suspense