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Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Elise is eleven. She has the same best friend she had when she was seven and even enjoys playing the same game she did when she was six, although now she has started to realise how silly it is. Things change though on the first day of middle school when the girl she shares a locker with embarrasses her. Her best friend, Franklin then steps in to defend her but instead makes them both look like a couple of kindergarten kids.

It starts off as a story about two kids on neighbouring farms trying to amuse themselves, and in the process coming up with imaginative games, only to find other children their age have moved on from such games. Elise also doesn't live with her real parents but her aunt and uncle. Right from the start at her middle school, Elise feels the force of peer pressure, the desire to fit in and is teased. She also learns that middle school is very different from elementary and has a lot more pressures.

Things seem to be going bad, but then she finds a key in her uncle's workshop with her name on it. It is one of eight keys that help her unlock her past and take a chance on the future.

This novel may seem a bit slow at first, but draws readers in and really sets the scene for a character easy to relate to, especially for any girls who have been bullied or teased at school. It is a thought provoking and moving book that girls over nine will love.

RRP $30.00
Published and distributed by Penguin Group under the Puffin title
 

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