By: Cathy Cassidy
The Chocolate Box Girls series
Middle school has ended and summer holidays are underway. Summer’s mum has gotten married to Paddy and they are taking off for three weeks on a working honeymoon. There is a film being shot locally, it is going to be a fun holiday. Unlike everyone else Summer has no time for fun. She had been asked to audition for a new ballet academy, this is her dream, a dream she once saw slip through her fingers and now she has a second chance.
Holidays turn into an obsession on finding perfection. Summer starts down a dangerous path that soon spirals out of control. She pushes everyone away. Perhaps the boy she has know forever and never seen as boyfriend material, will actually be the one who can help her. Maybe through it all she will discover that dreams can come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Wow what a powerful story. We are familiar with the characters and this is Summer’s story. Summer is the perfect one, the one voted most likely to succeed. The other books were engaging but Summer’s story is darker – her obsession leads to anorexia and depicts how easily it can take hold. It shows how the mind can and does trick her into believing one thing and how easily it can be hidden.
If you want to increase awareness to this topic then this is a good book. This series is for 8-12 year olds but definitely the top end of that and possibly the lower end of YA. It is a strong story that resonates, balanced with quirky and well written. characters. A great choice.
Recommended.
Publisher: Puffin Books
Published: 07 June 2012
Format: Paperback 304 pages
Categories: Eating Disorders, Siblings, Family
ISBN 13: 9780141344294
Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of page
TheKylieVerse 
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