Review Detail

When Lorelei and her brother first see the playground for Splendid Academy they are immediately drawn to the school. Luck for them, their school burns down so they get to transfer to Splendid Academy. At this school there aren't really any rules, you just do whatever you feel like doing. There are also snacks...never-ending snacks. Lorelei becomes friends with Andrew, the only other person who thinks all the food is weird. Together they try and get to the bottom of Splendid Academy because it just seem too good to be true. What they find out is more sinister than they would have believed.

This was a lovely book. Almost a re-telling of Hansel and Gretel. Candy + Kids = good times. One part of the story is about the kids and the school and the deep, dark secrets it hides behind closed doors. The other part is Lorelei and the circumstances revolving around her mother's death. Lorelei says she responsible, but how can this young girl be the cause of her mother's death.

The guilt of Lorelei weighs heavy in this book. Just when she starts to feel good about something, it seems like the weight of her mother's death just pulls her back down. On top of this awful guilt, Lorelei also has to struggle not tho be lured into the school's captivating spell that seems to have everyone else in a trance. I appreciated this aspect of the book, it added a bit more meat to it beyond the fun storyline.

Andrew was a good guy, I really liked that he was Lorelei friend. They made a pretty good team. Together they find out a lot of sinister stuff about the school. Nikki Loftin did a good job with foreshadowing bits and dropping as small clues throughout the story. There were lots of little details that really made the story, but went beyond the regular storyline.

Another fun middle grade novel that you should add to your list. I think boys and girls will both love this story about school being a bit more menacing than it first appears.

First Line:
"When my mom was alive, she read me stories every night."

Favorite Lines:
"'I think you're a witch.' Only I didn't say witch. I used, as my kindergarten teacher would have said, a rhyming word."