They were hidden in plain sight.
Thirteen-year-old Nell lives with her mother and her string of boyfriends/husbands. Living with her mother is exhausting and wrenching and it is a good thing she has Lydia as her best friend. “The trick is to tell when she’s in a carnivore mood or in an herbivore mood. (Carnivores have sharp teeth for biting. You shouldn’t get too close. But herbivores never attack.)“ It’s now the beginning of summer vacation when the girls like to kick loose and hang free but Lydia’s mother has other plans for her daughter. The summer of sleepovers, of secrets, of hidden discoveries and running around will not be happening this year as Lydia’s mother has forbidden the girls to see each other. Of course this action had something to do with Nell’s mother which made this situation even harder for Nell to digest. This does not stop the girls though; through some clever thinking on Nell’s part and determination for the both of them they outwit the restriction and explore an abandoned golf course. Like Louise and Clark on their own expedition, they find more than they bargained for.
The determination of Nell was heartfelt and she was searching for something yet she did not know what it was until she found it. I loved the way her characters talked, her straight forward language and her relationship with Lydia was wonderful. Lydia and Nell were both missing something and they both were able to help each other out and not judge each other or deal too much with the negative. It’s a simple, easy story without a lot of twists or complications. Great read for third graders and higher as no language issues or inappropriate issues, a good read. 3.5 stars
I enjoyed this; this really meant a lot to me:
“I hand over a lot of things when I’m home. Mom tells me she doesn’t like a shirt I want to buy, and I hand it over. Not the shirt itself, but my wish for that shirt. I want to watch one television show and she wants to watch another one –I hand that over, too. It’s easier that way. I even hand over my toenails when she asks. But I think sometimes you need to put a thing in a box – even if the box is inside your head –and store it away for yourself. “ (Love this- those are powerful words!!)
