Eight Keys (edition 2012)

Fans of [a:Wendy Mass|99650|Wendy Mass|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235153849p2/99650.jpg] will love Elise's story. While the puzzle that she's solving from her deceased father is reminiscent of [b:Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life|363851|Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life|Wendy Mass|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174114398s/363851.jpg|2621692], the issues that Elise faces and LaFleur's fully-realized characters make this a lovely story in its own right. ( )

In this coming-of-age story Elise moves into middle school and re-evaluates her relationships with her family, her long-time friend Franklin and the new kids in her new school. It is also the year she discovers the keys that unlock the 8 doors in the barn and learns about life from her father who died when she was three. ( )

This is a young adult book geared towards middle schoolers. The main character is Elise, an 11 year old girl being raised by her aunt and uncle. Elise's mother died the day Elise was born and her father died of cancer just a few years later, while she was still a tot. As the story begins, Elise and her lifelong friend, Frankln, are starting 6th grade at middle school. Things start off badly the first day when Elise is bullied by Amanda, her lockermate. The bullying intensifies, and Elise blames Frankin for making them both appear to be 'babies'. (Amanda is a regular 'mean girl' who made me want to get mean and smack her!) Elise's school work and friendship with Franklin suffer. She also begins to question her place in the world. 'Do her aunt and uncle feel 'stuck' with her?' 'Did her mom love her and think she was worth dying for?' 'WAS she worth dying for?'
The whole time Elise has lived with her aunt and uncle, she has known about 8 rooms on the upper floor of the barn that she was not allowed to enter. She always assumed it was some equipment belonging to her uncle. On her 12th birthday, she finds a key with her name, and soon realizes it belongs to one of the rooms. It turns out that her father loved puzzle and when he realized he would not be around to watch Elise grow up, he set up this puzzle for her. There are 8 keys to the 8 rooms. As the story proceeds, Elise learns not only what is in each room, but about her self and her place in the world. This was a quick, easy read for me, and I think most middle school students would also find it easy to read and relate to the story well. ( )

an enjoyable book that introduces the reader to a young girl Elise who is struggling to deal with the emotional changes that pubertal change brings. Elise is being reared by her aunt and uncle as her birth mother dies not long after her birth and her father died from cancer when she was a toddler. Before he died her dad set up eight rooms in the barn for Elise to unlock when the 'time was right'. Elise is being bullied at school and her best friend Frankiln no longer seems cool to her. Elise finds the first key and unlocks the first door; this leads her to discover more about who she is and how she fits into the scheme of things. A journey of self discovery which allows Elise to gain self confidence and begin to achieve. ( )

I tried to read listen to this book in the car. It was too hard to follow so I decided to buy the book and I couldn't put it down. It was such a great story about love and loss, friendship, struggles with getting older and finding yourself. I really enjoyed the story about Elise and her journey to find out what the eight keys were for. Elise lost her mom at birth and then her dad three years later to cancer. She now lives with her Aunt Bessie and Uncle Hugh. Elise has many struggles in school with a bully named Amanda, with her best friend Franklin and with her new journey to being in middle school and the work load. Elise turns 12 and receives her last letter from her dad on her birthday. He says that he has left something for her. She discovers a key with her name on it and wonders what it is for. She remembers that in the barn at her house, upstairs there are eight doors. She has never known what they were for. Throughout the story these random keys are showing up everywhere and she keeps opening the doors to see what her father left for her. I won't tell you what is in these doors because that is part of the story. I highly recommend this book. In the end she was able to find herself. ( )