A review by sophie_hboff
Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up by Jessica Brody
3.0
A cute book with a nice moral, although a rather simplistic read in terms of plot.
In this book, Addie Bell is a 7th Grade girl just wishing she could grow up. Her older sister, Rory, makes her feel like being 16 would be perfect-- no problems! Just lots of boys, lots of friends, and makeup. And since all Addie wants is to stop feeling so immature and young. So when she has the chance to make a wish with a magical box, of course she makes one!
But what Addie realizes is that being 16 isn't as easy as it seems.
This book is a nice read for any middle-school aged girls who wish they were in high school already, or feel like their age doesn't fit with the person they are. Although there appears to be a deus ex machina and the plot lacks in complexity, it has a good moral: appreciate the age that you are, and don't take anything or anyone for granted!!
It was also filled with a lot of humour and I found myself laughing out loud at times. The author's writing is very engaging and fun-- although I found myself rolling my eyes at the immaturity of even the sixteen-year-olds in this story (particularly their obscene use of emojis when they text each other! It's incomprehensible, insensible, and exhausting, and completely unrealistic). Sometimes I couldn't tell the difference between the twelve-year-olds and the sixteen-year-olds in this story!
This book is funny, thoughtful, and a nice read for middle-schoolers. Although I didn't appreciate it as much as I could have, it was still a very good read and perhaps a finer example of middle-school novels aimed towards girls.
In this book, Addie Bell is a 7th Grade girl just wishing she could grow up. Her older sister, Rory, makes her feel like being 16 would be perfect-- no problems! Just lots of boys, lots of friends, and makeup. And since all Addie wants is to stop feeling so immature and young. So when she has the chance to make a wish with a magical box, of course she makes one!
But what Addie realizes is that being 16 isn't as easy as it seems.
This book is a nice read for any middle-school aged girls who wish they were in high school already, or feel like their age doesn't fit with the person they are. Although there appears to be a deus ex machina and the plot lacks in complexity, it has a good moral: appreciate the age that you are, and don't take anything or anyone for granted!!
It was also filled with a lot of humour and I found myself laughing out loud at times. The author's writing is very engaging and fun-- although I found myself rolling my eyes at the immaturity of even the sixteen-year-olds in this story (particularly their obscene use of emojis when they text each other! It's incomprehensible, insensible, and exhausting, and completely unrealistic). Sometimes I couldn't tell the difference between the twelve-year-olds and the sixteen-year-olds in this story!
This book is funny, thoughtful, and a nice read for middle-schoolers. Although I didn't appreciate it as much as I could have, it was still a very good read and perhaps a finer example of middle-school novels aimed towards girls.