Coming on April 15, 2010
Synopsis:
An attic can hold a world of secrets.
Everyone dreams of finding a secret room in their house that they can escape to, and Sadie is thrilled when she finds one in her new house. It has a sign that says "Palace Beautiful," and she finds a journal written over sixty years ago by a girl her age. But Sadie never imagined her own life could get almost as dramatic as the one she reads about in the journal!
My Thoughts:
I was given this book to read by a friend at work. They had received an ARC in the mail, and they don't review books, so she passed it along to me. I'll admit that I was skeptical. It is more of a middle-grade book which are not my most favorite books. I love the romance and other silliness that comes from books for older young adults. However, I changed my mind once I got into the story.
Sadie and Zuzu move from Texas to Utah with their Dad and their stepmother. There is definitely a theme of familial relationships in this book, which was nice. The stepmother wasn't evil--in fact, she was very gracious and lovely. I liked Sherrie quite a bit.
The story that really was compelling was the one told in the journal. It was of a girl in Salt Lake City, during the Influenza outbreak in 1918. Her story drew me in and I was just as excited as the girls EVERY time they went to open up the journal to read 6 more entries.
There were parts that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. The side story with Bella/Kristen and her mom was kind of dramatic and felt out of place, and was rather anti-climatic. It didn't fit with the tone of the rest of the book.
Also, sometimes it felt like what Sadie said was not fitting of a girl 13 years of age. She sounded more like she was 20 or 25. I also was frustrated because I didn't realize that the story was set in 1985. Not that it really changed much, it just would've been nice to know a little sooner than throwing that information in in the middle of the story.
All in all, I would recommend this book to any younger girl. It's a lovely story and what little girl doesn't hope for a secret room in the attic?
Recommendation: Library or purchase (I know, I say library every time, but I'm a poor student who can't afford to purchase!)
Rating: 3/5 stars
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