The Ghastly Glasses

The Ghastly Glasses, by Beatrice Gormley

When Andrea’s Aunt Bets mistakes a psychic for an optometrist, Andrea gets more than just new glasses. At first, she hates the glasses, but then she realizes that, in addition to being able to see better, she now has a sort of magical power. When someone does something she does not like, Andrea can wish to change him or her. Through the power of the glasses, she begins to tower over the person, and with just one with, they change. The problem is, the wishes start to backfire. Andrea wishes Aunt Bets would stop babying the cat, but now Aunt Bets hates him, going so far as to take him to the Humane Society. When Andrea wishes her brother, Jim, would be her friend again, now he will not leave her show more alone. When Andrea wishes that the principal, Mr. Hinkel, would be able to relate to the fifth graders at their age level, now Mr. Hinkel acts meaner than Scott, the school bully. Andrea begins to realize that maybe the power of the glasses is not so great, but much more evil and sinister.

This science fiction tale is about a fifth grader, and perfect for any fifth grader or younger student who might pick it up. Andrea is a likeable character, and she and all of the other characters in the book are well developed. The plot is cute, but it lacks an edge that could make the book more suspenseful. It felt extremely predictable in parts, and a bit boring in others. I did love the underlying message about animal testing being cruelty to animals. As an animal lover, that engaged me. All in all, I just did not believe the book, and was never able to suspend my disbelief enough to really get into the book. show less