Finally Thirteen and Almost Fourteen

This book hit me a little harder than the others. As a student who had just gone through her first year in middle school, I found myself relating to many parts of the books: the excitement that these students felt, the anxiety, and many other things. This book was a great follow up to the others. It gives the readers a sense of what happened after the exciting events in the previous books. It shows the readers how life has progressed a year later after capturing the monkey. A special way of writing that Mr. Read gives, I find myself enjoying it because he shows the views of many people. As Calista and Skyler go into junior high, they find themselves surrounded by many more people more than just themselves. Some were in the previous books, some not. He shows the views of these new characters and really introduces the reader to them without formally doing so. With all the concerns that middle school brings to students, there is also a lot of concern among the parents. To show this concern, he not only shows the thoughts of the kids, but also shows the thoughts of the parents. This gives you a great perspective about how parents think through this change and also brings a lot of irony into the book. The story focuses on a group of teenagers struggling and trying to survive junior high. The story involves two previous characters and some new ones. The book shows the struggles of getting schoolwork done. It also shows the struggles of these middle schoolers going through relationships, one of these being Cali and Sky. These two best friends found that their feelings for each other went a little deeper than just friends. In the story, you get to follow their adventures as a new couple and what dangers they might go through. This book incorporates the adventures from the previous story and mixes it with some romance. The balance between the two is perfect. Not only do you get to follow Cali and Sky’s relationship, you get to follow their friend group’s potential relationships and struggles. It really gives the book dimension. Overall, the book is like a reality TV show on paper. You get to follow a group of new middle schoolers and what their life goes through. Mr. Read made sure that no page was boring or without action. This book ties together young romance and action perfectly. Every tiny aspect that Mr. Read added made the book have so much character and dimension.