Another Winner

I am a big fan of Andrew Clements and have read and loved most of his books. Favourites that come to mind are "No Talking", "The Report Card" and all the Jake Drake books. So I was very excited to see a new one, "Extra Credit". After reading it I think it is another winner! One of the main characters is Abby, a young girl who loves rock climbing and the outdoors... at the expense of her school work. When she is told she will have to stay back in the same grade she decides to show them she can do the work. She is asked to do an extra credit for the work she has missed and her task is to become a penpal to another student in a foreign country. She chooses Afghanistan because of the mountains. Her first letter ends up in a small village where it is decided to have the best student respond. The problem is that the best student is a boy and traditional values dictate that a boy should not correspond with a girl. This boy is Sadeed. It is his sister who is then chosen to write but because she does not do such a good job he intervenes and helps write back. A friendship between Abby and Sadeed begins that is based on the mutual love of the land and the honesty that children can have with each other. The problems arise when society with all its fears, both in America and Afghanistan, interfere. Read this! Not only a good story but one that will make you think.

What are you reading today?