Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Coming to us by the same author as Love, Aubrey, Eight Keys (Lexile: 590; Reading Level: Grades 4-7) is the story of Elise.  Elise has a lot of "always" in her life.  She has always been friends with Franklin.  She has always lived with her aunt and uncle, and she has always be okay with who she is.  Until middle school.  Then all of a sudden the things she used to like, including Franklin, seem childish.  She doesn't seem to know how to make friends, and her locker-mate seems out to get her, just because she starts the school year with scabs on her legs.  

Personal growth is a key theme in this story as Elise tries to figure out how to get her homework done, still have time to play (is it still OK to play?), and somehow protect her lunch from it's daily squish.  Can she talk to the grown-ups about what she's thinking, or will they not understand?

Then after getting her annual birthday letter (left for her by her father who died when she was very young), she discovers keys to locked doors and a riddle to help her figure out her problems.  Join Suzanne LaFleur on another great growing-up adventure in which you can't help but feel Elise's pain and struggle, and her joy at the little things she discovers about herself.  224 pages.

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