Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Title: Eight Keys
Author: Suzanne LaFleur
ISBN:978-0-385-74030-2

By nature I am a skeptical person.  I was picking out which books I was going to read from a new shipment of Children's Books that the library received and I saw Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur.  Under the title it say "Eight secrets.  Each will unlock the past..."  Meh, I thought.  The book looked fairly short and I knew it would be a fast read so I grabbed it and checked it out.  On the back one of the quotes from other reviewers said "Quite simply the best book for girls nine and over that I have ever read,"  at this point I think I snorted just a little.

Truthfully though, the book was brilliant.  It is the story for every child who can't quite deal with middle school, and lets be honest who can.  Elise is just starting sixth grade and everything that can go wrong for her does.  On the first day of school she finds out that she needs to share her locker with the meanest girl ever and she gets given the nickname "Scabular"  not exactly the best way to start a new year.  If that isn't bad enough, all her teachers hate her and she can't seem to get her act together.  She forgets about her homework, misses the bus, fails tests and eventually gets sent to the principals office for fighting.  While all this is happening she is also learning more about her parents who are both dead and the aunt and uncle who raised her. 

This book is most definitely a tear jerkier, not the snuffly nose, weepy eyes sort.  Instead it is more of the maybe if no one gets real close they won't know that I am crying type of book.  When I got to the end of Eight Keys I was actually disappointed that it was finished.  It reminded me of when I was in middle school (also having a horrible time of it) and my mom gave me Whirligig by Paul Fleischman.  While that book didn't exactly spur me into action to change my life, perhaps Eight Keys will be able to help your favorite middle school student. 

P.S.  Kids really hate it when you say "This is a great book you have to read it!"  That never works instead try to surreptitiously slip this one into their Christmas Stocking..  Plus it is by the same author of Love, Aubrey so if your kid was a fan of that she is sure to love this one!