It's as good as I've come to expect from the American Girl books. This one has the theme archaeology, as usual with a 10 year old spin. I like that they address the issue of tomb robbers. There was enough adventure to keep interest without getting to fantastic to be believed. ( )

Ten year old Jess is tired of being the baby of the family, so she goes with her parents on an archaelogical dig in Belize to grow up. At first she's lonely, but she makes a friend and has many new experiences that add to her excitement- in the end she's done everything from nearly drowning to discovering an unexplored Mayan cave filled with artifacts. She definitely doesn't feel like the baby any more. ( )