Olivia Howe's Mystery Review
- Details
- Category: BEEP
- Published on Friday, 27 January 2012 19:42
- Written by Dianne_Clouet
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Title: 11 Birthdays
Author: Wendy Mass
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Amanda Ellerby and Leo Fitzpatrick are both born in the same year on June 5th at the Willow Falls Birthing Center. From their first birthday on they have their parties together and they’re best friends. At their tenth party, however, Amanda overhears Leo saying some cruel things about her. She runs away from the party and vows never to speak to Leo again.
Amanda keeps her promise for one whole year and on the day of their 11th birthday, for the first time, their parties are separate. Sadly, her friends blow off her party to go to Leo’s and she is, of course, very upset by this. She goes to bed that Friday night relieved that the next day is Saturday and she won’t have to see her friends at school. The next morning her family is acting as though it’s still June 5th. It can’t be. But it is.
With each passing day, Amanda wakes up to discover it is still her birthday. She feels lost and hopeless because she doesn’t know how to break this cycle, but then she learns that Leo is going through the same thing. The two old friends reconnect and try to figure out why their birthdays are repeating for them.
Helped by a mysterious old woman named Angelina D’Angelo, Amanda and Leo uncover a mutual family secret that leads them to understand the reason for this strange situation, and with it, they also learn the meaning of friendship.
I recommend this entertaining story to readers between ages 9 and 12, and for those of you who have wished you could redo something or are eagerly anticipating your eleventh birthday. 11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass, was a laugh-out-loud-funny, fascinating, and touching tale.
Reviewed by Olivia Howe 