Daphne's Book by Mary Downing Hahn

I saw this book at the Scholastic book fair. I'd read another book previously (Deep, Dark, and Dangerous) by Mary Downing Hahn, and enjoyed that, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Well, I started reading it and had a hard time putting it down. It was really good. I felt a variety of emotions as I read it: sadness, anger, loneliness, hope, and frustration to name a few. Note, I didn't say funny or light.

Jessica and Daphne are 7th graders who are paired together for the Write-a-Book contest. Daphne is a new kid at school, and her classmates are really mean to her. The "popular" kids have targeted Daphne and call her Daffy Duck.

Mr. O'Brien, the writing teacher, pairs Jessica and Daphne together because he knows Jessica is a good writer and Daphne is a good illustrator. As a team, they have a good chance at winning the contest. Initially, Jessica isn't very happy about it. However, after getting to know Daphne, she looks at it differently.

I thought it was a new book until I started to read it. I came across comments like dittoed copies, taking aspirin (note: you shouldn't take aspirin if you're a kid), and the forms of communicating (no e-mail...just letter writing). I took a look at the copyright date...1983, my junior year of high school! However, the story has held up very well over time. I have a feeling there are many girls who could identify with Jessica, and some who could relate to Daphne.

Target audience: girls

Genre: realistic fiction

Topics: middle school, fitting in, friends changing, divorce, poor living conditions, writing and illustrating books, family, being different, truancy, popularity, fear of taking a stand, fitting in

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5

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