I really enjoyed this book. It was nice to get a taste of boarding school other than Harry Potter. Many things were the same though, such as the strict rules and dress code and collecting house points. This school (Ashdown Academy) is also open to day students and takes students from Grade 1- Grade 12. Eliza and her friends are in Grade 7 which I think is quite young to board. I could never do it at age 12.
The girls in the Yellow Dorm are very stereotypical. There’s the Troublemaker (Helen), the Goody-Goody (Pam), the Quiet One (Jean), the Bubbly/Outgoing one (Carrie) and the fairly average, good student who is trying to fit in (Eliza).
One thing that bothered me was Helen is constantly referred to as the other girl. For example,
“Jean said she could skip seeing her parents for one week, and she seemed pleased to be included, Pam, who usually went out with her friend Deb, said in a syrupy voice that Helen mocked, that she’d love to meet Eliza’s relatives. Eliza was the most puzzled by Helen’s acceptance. She didn’t understand why the other girl would want to come, but Helen said it would be good to have some freedom.” – pg. 68
Why is Helen always, (with one exception,) the other girl? It just seems weird and out of place and after a while, annoying. Other than that I loved the book.
The book is also good for increasing one’s vocabulary. I can’t find them now so I can’t give examples but there were a few words that I wasn’t sure on and quite a few more that an average teen might have to look up.
This is the second book by Kit Pearson I’ve read so far and I’ve loved both of them. I hope the rest of her books are this good.